Brothers in Harm
by georges1982-96
Summary: When Remus's brother shows up needing a place to stay, it dredges up a dark, painful past that Remus has been trying to escape. This is a Sirius/Remus SLASH raise Harry story. TRIGGERS: will contain abuse and possible sexual assault. Rated M for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! This is the first time I've attempted a multi-chaptered story on here. I hope you guys like it. I've done my best to edit it, but if you spot any mistakes, feel free to point them out to me. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope it can keep you entertained. **

**This is AU, I guess, because Remus and Sirius have raised Harry. The events of the first two books did occur, but obviously the events of the third book wouldn't happen if Sirius was free, so I went from there and ran with it. **

**It is SLASH, so be warned. It will contain abuse and possible sexual assault (nothing graphic, if it happens). I haven't decided yet, but it most likely will, so if that is a trigger for you, don't read it. if anything else comes up, I will put a specific warning on that chapter.**

**I do not own Harry Potter or any of the character within, however awesome that would be. **

* * *

Sirius rolled over in bed, pulling the soft sheets with him and burying his face in them in a fruitless effort to block the sun from his eyes. He groaned, slowly coming to terms with the fact that he wasn't getting any more sleep that morning.

"Morning, love."

Sirius propped himself up on his elbow and rubbed his eyes blearily, scowling at the man sitting up cross legged in bed next to him. "It's too early for you to be this awake."

"It's ten o' clock," Remus rolled his eyes. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Even Harry's up by now."

Sirius grunted and pushed himself up so he was facing Remus. Remus was already dressed, wearing an old sweater with a stretched collar and worn jeans. His feet dug into Sirius's calves, and Sirius could feel the thick fabric of his socks.

"I made pancakes," Remus added, quirking an eyebrow at Sirius.

"You should have opened with that," Sirius grinned and leaned forward to press his lips to his partner's. Remus smiled against his mouth and pushed him away.

"Keep your morning breath to yourself," he muttered, but his smile made it hard for Sirius to believe he was really annoyed. He stood up and moved towards the doorway. Sirius caught his wrist and pulled him back towards the bed. The back of Remus's knees hit the bed frame and he was sent sprawling back onto the sheets. Sirius climbed on top of him and bent over him so their foreheads touched. Remus rolled his eyes and tried to look stern, but ended up smiling softly up at the dark haired man.

"I love you," Sirius said quietly, suddenly serious as he touched Remus's cheek. His hair curtained around them, tickling Remus's nose and blocking out the rest of the room from Remus's vision.

Remus tilted his head curiously and twined his fingers through Sirius's. "I love you, too. Are you okay?"

"Fine," Sirius replied, smiling brightly. Honestly, he was more than a little worried about Remus. Full moon was approaching fast, and the werewolf was paler than usual. Sirius had felt him tossing and turning last night and the lack of sleep showed in the light dusting of purple under his eyes.

"Come downstairs?" Remus asked quietly, straightening the front of Sirius's pajama shirt. He smoothed the fabric against Sirius's chest with his slim fingers.

"I'll be right there," Sirius brushed his nose against Remus's before rolling off of the smaller man. Remus stood up again and made it to the door successfully this time.

* * *

"Morning," Harry greeted his godfather when Sirius finally made it to the kitchen after pulling on a t-shirt and semi-clean pair of jeans. "Finally decide to grace us with your presence?"

"You should be honored," Sirius ruffled Harry's hair as he walked by and plopped into the seat next to him. He caught sight of Harry's empty plate on the table. "You ate without me? I'm hurt." He held a hand to his heart in a mock wounded gesture and flopped back in his chair.

Harry rolled his eyes and turned the page of the broom care manual Hermione had gotten him for his birthday last year. It reminded Sirius that his thirteenth birthday was coming up soon, and he still had to order a broom for his present.

Sirius was interrupted in warming his plate of pancakes up in the Muggle microwave by the shrill screech of Remus's ancient owl and a dull thud as it landed on the table.

"God, that beast is obnoxious," Sirius eyed the large bird's twitching body with distaste as it made pathetic, high pitched cooing sounds.

"He's old," Remus admonished him, entering the kitchen at hearing the bird's cries. He carefully adjusted the animal so it was in a more comfortable position and untied the letter from its foot. The owl cooed softly and nipped Remus's fingers affectionately. Sirius glared at it. When it nipped at his fingers, it wasn't gentle; that thing was out for blood.

Remus scooped up his lump of an owl and carried him to the nook by the back door where he'd made the thing a bed of ragged blankets by the window. "Take a rest, Caliban."

He returned to the kitchen and slit the letter open with his finger, unfolding it in the same motion.

"Who's it from?" Harry asked curiously. Sirius took his warm plate and reclaimed his seat at the table.

"Romulus," Remus replied, his eyes scanning the page quickly. A small line of worry appeared between his eyebrows. "He needs a place to stay. He's getting a divorce."

"He wants to stay here?" Sirius almost spit his pancakes out over the table. "What the hell, Remus?"

"Who is he?" Harry asked, perking up with interest.

"My brother," Remus replied distractedly, staring down at the letter as if he could change the words by looking at them long enough. "Sirius, please."

"Don't 'Sirius' me," Sirius growled. "After thirteen years he sends you a letter out of the blue asking to move in? That's ridiculous."

"He's my brother," Remus's eyes shifted to Sirius and his gaze was steady and determined. "What do you expect me to do? Turn him out?"

"Maybe some of his Death Eater friends can take him in," Sirius snapped, instantly regretting it when he saw the flash of anger in Remus's eyes.

"He's a Death Eater?" Harry asked, eyes going from Sirius to Remus as they went back and forth.

Remus didn't look away from Sirius. "It was never proven."

"There are other reasons I don't want him around you," Sirius said lowly. "Or Harry."

Remus blinked and looked away, crossing his arms over his chest defensively. "That was a long time ago."

"Exactly," Sirius raise his eyebrows. "So he's had plenty of time to apologize."

"I don't want him here any more than you do, Sirius," Remus said, rubbing his temples. "But he's my brother. And he's already on his way. I can't let him come all the way here and then tell him to leave."

"I can," Sirius growled.

Remus sighed and looked away, out the window that faced the woods outside the small cottage. His fingers threaded through his thick tawny hair and tugged at the wavy strands. "Just…" his gaze travelled back to Sirius and his expression was solemn, his hazel eyes imploring for Sirius to just stop arguing. "Please. Only a few days. For me."

Sirius's resolve crumbled a little bit. Remus didn't use that line often, and Sirius didn't fall for it when he did. However, he recognized the desperate plea behind it and nodded slowly, reluctantly allowing the matter to drop. For a little while, at least.

"Thanks," Remus stood up and disappeared into the hallway. Harry and Sirius heard him in the study, moving the books off the shelves in the small room so he could dust. Sirius relaxed a little but when he heard it. Cleaning was a coping mechanism for Remus, he'd figured out over their years together. Definitely one of the preferable ones Sirius had witnessed in his years of knowing the man. Remus had some very well hidden self-destructive tendencies. Dusting was a harmless relief.

"What did his brother do?" Harry spoke up after a moment.

Sirius looked up and met the bright green eyes of his godson. The innocent curiosity in those eyes that were so much like Lily's caused a jab of pain in his gut, and he swallowed hard. Harry was almost a teenager now. He wasn't a little kid anymore. As much as Sirius wished he could protect the kid from anything bad, it was stupid and unrealistic of him to try. He just couldn't get the image of a year old Harry wrapped in Remus's arms as he slept out of his head. He could remember the exact moment when the fierce protectiveness for the boy had set in (the first time he'd held him), and he wasn't quite ready to let him go yet. Maybe he never would be, even when it happened and Harry left to start his own family.

"Sirius?" Harry said his name and Sirius snapped out of his thoughts, blinking hard a few times.

"Sorry, Harry, what?" he asked, trying to focus on what Harry was saying.

"What did his brother do?" Harry asked again, repeating the words more slowly. "Was he really a Death Eater?"

Sirius pursed his lips and thought for a moment. "I…I don't know. If you want to know the whole story, ask Remus. I have no right to tell it. I don't even know it all, honestly."

"He's obviously upset," Harry pointed out, glancing towards the study.

Sirius listened for a moment to the sound of objects being shuffled around in the other room. "Just give him some time. He'll be alright."

Sirius hoped he was right.

* * *

**I would really appreciate and love it if some of you would drop me a review to let me know if I should go on with it. I don't want to keep going with it on here if people don't like it.**

**Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

__**So here's chapter two! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed and followed and added this to their favorites! You have no idea how much it means to me, it literally made my week; I couldn't stop smiling when I got the alerts. **

**Anyway, some information on this chapter; the italics are a flashback. It's mostly a flashback, with a little bit of Sirius/Remus (nothing explicit) at the end. **

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: slash, child abuse, hints at sexual abuse of a father to a son (again, nothing explicit), and some language**

**Thanks for reading!**

* * *

_Remus cringed back against the wall as the sound of a vase smashing on the wooden floor broke through the stale, silent air of the small house._

_ "REMUS!" a deep voice bellowed through the hallways, and Remus could have sworn the noise made the whole house shake, the same way it made his thin body shake._

_ He cowered closer to the wall, pushing himself into the corner in a desperate attempt to make himself smaller in the vain hope that his father won't find him._

_ He suddenly felt hands dig into the front of his shirt and yank him out of the corner. He flinched, instinctively covering his face with his hands and trying to pull away._

_ He was surprised when instead of hitting him, the hands pulled him close and he found himself pressed protectively against someone's chest. He breathed in and immediately recognized the scent of cigarettes and cheap soap that he associated with his older brother. _

_ "C'mon, Remus," Romulus muttered, his mouth close to Remus's ear so their father wouldn't hear him. "Get to the basement. Lock the door."_

_ "What about you?" Remus gripped Romulus tightly as his brother half dragged him towards the kitchen where the door to the basement was swung halfway open._

_ "I'll be fine," Romulus smiled reassuringly, but Remus didn't buy his brother's comforting words the way he used to when he was younger. He saw the fear behind Romulus's bravado, and he knew that his brother wouldn't be fine if he was left out here with their angry father. He still had a nasty bruise on his cheek and a scab on his lip where it had been split open by John Lupin's wedding ring last week. He knew Romulus wanted to protect him, but the reality was that his brother was returning to Hogwarts at the end of winter holidays that Saturday, and Remus would be on his own again until summer holidays. "Now, go, Remus!"_

_ He shoved Remus towards the door, and Remus gripped the brass knob to stay upright. He turned to try to talk to his brother, to convince him to come with him where they could be locked safely in the basement together, where their dad couldn't get them and Remus wouldn't have to cower against the door and listen to his brother try to suppress cries of pain as his body was thrown around the room by their furious father. _

_ "I don't think so," a voice growled in Remus's ear and a rough hand was wrapped around his collar, yanking him away from the door and sending him into the corner of the kitchen table. His stomach caught the worst of the blow, and it wouldn't have been as painful as it was if he hadn't broken four of his ribs during the Moon four days ago. He felt them shift inside him at the impact and his small, ten year old body dropped to the floor in a heap as he wrapped his arms around his middle and curled up in pain. His breath came in short, jagged gasps and he prayed that blow hadn't shifted his ribs to jab at any important internal organs._

_ "God, Remus…" Romulus watched his brother try to get his breath back with a feeling of crippling guilt that twisted his stomach. Remus's chest was heaving and he was hunched over so his thick hair obscured his face from Romulus's view. Romulus moved between the smaller boy and John. "Leave him alone, Dad. He's hurt."_

_ "Oh, he's hurt," John repeated mockingly, rolling his eyes and shoving Romulus's chest roughly. Romulus stumbled back a step, but regained his footing and pushed Remus further behind him. He could feel Remus's slim fingers curl around his belt. Remus's breathing wasn't as labored as it had been, and he seemed to have more control over his intake of air, Romulus noted to his relief. John sneered at them, his dark eyes glinting with disgust. "I'm not having any pity for the little freak; he brought it on himself when he was turned into this monster."_

_ Remus flinched imperceptibly at the harsh words and dropped his gaze to the floor. _

_ "You're not a monster," Romulus said softly, not looking at Remus, keeping his eyes firmly on their dad, and squeezed Remus's hand tightly. He took a deep breath. "Did you need us for something, Dad?" He prayed for their dad to just get this over with and not drag it out any longer than necessary._

_ "I got a phone call today," John began casually after a few moments of silence. His gaze shifted to his younger son. "And I wasn't very happy about what the person who called had to say to me."_

_ Remus shuffled uncomfortably and tried to recall what he'd done that could have warranted a phone call that had upset his father. He came up with nothing._

_ "Seems your History teacher is rather concerned with some of your bruises, Remus," Dad growled, stalking towards his sons. Romulus's eyes widened and he tried to move himself and Remus out of the way, but their father managed to get a grip on him before he could escape. He easily shoved the teenager out of his way, sending him sprawling to the floor, and grabbed the front of Remus's shirt, yanking the younger boy closer to him. "What did you tell him?"_

_ "Nothing, I didn't tell anyone anything," Remus choked, struggling in his father's grip as his ribs were jostled painfully. He looked over at his brother, who was watching with wide eyes from his spot on the floor._

_He returned his gaze to his father's red face. "I don't know why he would say that, I didn't tell, I didn't…"_

_He couldn't say he hadn't been tempted to tell his kind, concerned teacher that his dad hurt him sometimes. There were some days where the words clawed up his throat, vying to slip off his tongue, and physically choked him, but he never let them escape his lips._

_ "When would he have seen them?" John demanded angrily. "What, Remus, are you taking your clothes off for him? Is that how you're passing that class, you stupid, worthless slut? You're just like your mother…"_

_ Remus swallowed hard and tried to slide out of John's grip. "No, Dad, I'm not, I'm not…I haven't told anyone, I haven't…"_

_ "You'd better not have," their dad snarled, slamming Remus back into the side of the counter. Remus gasped and instinctively tried to curl up to relieve the pain in his body, but his father's unrelenting grip wouldn't let him. His dad's knee made its way between his legs and effectively pinned him to the counter. "Do you know what would happen if you did?"_

_ "Yes," Remus nodded fervently; he knew. His father had told him and Romulus many times what would happen in anyone found out about him being a werewolf or how either of them got their bruises. _

_ "What would happen?" John demanded, pulling Remus closer and shoving him back against the counter roughly._

_ Remus gritted his teeth and gasped out the words, speaking fast as he rode out the new wave of pain. "We would get taken away and Romulus would get put in a foster home with people who would hurt him and I would get locked up in a lab and experimented on and probably killed and it would be all my fault because I deserve this."_

_ "That's right," John's expression suddenly softened and one of his hands went to tenderly stroke Remus's cheek. Remus turned his face away and closed his eyes, trying to block out the feel of his father's hand on his skin. "Good boy. I don't like hurting you. I really don't. You believe me, don't you?" Remus nodded stiffly desperate to get away from the hand touching his face so softly. It burned his skin as much as a vicious slap would. "You just need to be taught. You need to learn right from wrong. You're so, so wrong, Remus. I just want to help fix you. I can't do that if you get taken away, can I?" Remus shook his head, squirming uncomfortably. John shoved his knee a little higher and Remus pushed himself up against the counter to move away from it. _

_John went on speaking quietly into Remus's ear, his whiskey scented breath ghosting over Remus's pale skin. "Your mother would want you to be right. Your mother would be so disappointed if you wouldn't let me help you."_

_ He considered Remus for a moment, taking in the boy's rigid posture and obvious discomfort and pain. He gripped Remus's chin in his fingers and forced his son to look him in the eyes. "I love you."_

_ Remus blinked and tried to look away, small, unconscious keening sounds forming on the back of his throat. _

_ John slapped him, hard, and regained his grip on Remus's chin. "I said, I love you."_

_ "I love you, too," Remus choked out, the words making him physically sick. His cheek was red where his father's hand had made contact. His stomach contracted and his eyes stung. He'd expected a beating. He could take a beating. His dad's mind games and sickeningly intimate words and touches were what really tore at his carefully maintained self-control. _

_ John smiled at Remus, a twisted, rarely used expression that looked more like a facial twitch. His fingers carded through Remus's wavy gold hair. "I know."_

* * *

"Remus!"

Remus shot up in bed, knocking his head into something hard and flailing out for his wand instinctively. He felt gentle hands on his wrist and chest and realized that he wasn't, if fact, a ten year old boy in his childhood home, but a grown man in bed with his partner in their small cottage in the woods. He flopped back on the sheets and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake off the cobwebs of the nightmare that seemed to cling to his skin.

"Are you alright?" Sirius leaned over him and watched him with concern. He rubbed his forehead where Remus's head had slammed into his when he'd woken up, and winced.

Remus mumbled something incomprehensible and threw his arm over his eyes. His chest was still rising and falling too quickly for him to actually be calm. Sirius reached over and rubbed his stomach soothingly with one hand. He brought his other hand up to cup Remus's cheek.

Remus's arm dropped from his eyes and the look in his tortured hazel eyes made Sirius's stomach go cold. He brushed his thumb over Remus's cheekbone, wiping away a stray tear. Sirius could feel Remus's eyes studying his face carefully, memorizing his features like he was afraid Sirius would disappear.

Sirius finally spoke up softly after a few moments. "Are you alright, babe?"

Remus took a deep breath and nodded, his eyes tearing away from Sirius's face to stare at the ceiling. "Yeah…" his voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat. "Yes. I…just a…a nightmare."

Sirius pursed his lips into a bitter smile and reached over to wrap his arms around Remus. He pulled the man's slim body closer to his and Remus curled up against his side. Remus pillowed his head on the crook of Sirius's shoulder and nuzzled his nose against Sirius's shirt.

Sirius stroked Remus's back soothingly and kissed Remus's temple. "Was it about your brother?"

"No," Remus pressed his face into Sirius's shoulder further and sniffled. "I…Yes…Sort of. Mostly…mostly my dad."

Sirius's expression darkened at Remus's admission and he curled his arm around the man more tightly. Sirius hated Remus's father as much as he hated his own family, if not more (which was saying a lot, considering the amount of latent anger he'd harbored for the Blacks for years). Remus had always come back to school from summer and breaks with bruises on his body that he shrugged off as wounds from the full moon, but Sirius never bought it. Werewolves didn't leave bruises shaped like fingers.

"I swear to God I'll never let him touch you again," Sirius vowed lowly, his lips brushing Remus's soft hair. Remus shivered and Sirius drew the thick blankets tighter around them both. Remus's body was stiff, but Sirius could feel him slowly relaxing, the way he always did when he came back from a nightmare wrapped in Sirius's arms.

"I'm sorry I woke you," Remus muttered absentmindedly, staring at his own fingers and they curled into Sirius's shirt. Three of his fingers were crooked from where they'd been broken multiple times by his father.

Sirius let out a huff of sardonic laughter. "I can't believe you still feel bad about waking me up. I have my share of nightmares that you wake up for, too." Remus smiled a little and traced small circles on Sirius's chest with his finger. "Don't tell me you're not worried about him staying here."

"Of course I am," Remus snapped tiredly. "Sirius, I don't want to talk about it, okay? He's staying here."

"I know," Sirius backed off at once, feeling the irritation edge into Remus's body again. "I didn't mean that. I just…understandably, him writing and coming to visit is bound to bring up some memories."

Sirius thought that was the most diplomatic way he could put it when he mostly just wanted to hex Remus's brother into the next postal code, and he was relieved that Remus took it that way and relaxed again.

"He's my brother," Remus said slowly. "No matter what he did…he's my brother. It's not like…it's not like it was all bad. He read to me when I was little, he tucked me in at night, he bandaged me up after full moon for years…"

It was odd to hear the last instance after the other 'normal' childhood events Remus had listed, but Sirius was all too aware that bandaging wounds had been a normal part of Remus's childhood.

"I don't know…" Remus sighed deeply and rubbed his face. "I don't know how to feel about it."

"You don't have to know," Sirius muttered. "Just feel what you want. Don't shut me out. If you want him to leave, if you get uncomfortable, we can tell him to leave. It's completely up to you."

"Thank you," Remus rolled over and bent his head over Sirius's, placing a hand on his chest for support. The ends of his hair brushed Sirius's cheeks. "I appreciate your support in this. I know you don't like him, or trust him. It…means a lot that you'll shut your mouth for once and just go along with it."

"Thank you," Sirius wrinkled his nose and tilted his head. "I think."

Remus smiled a little, and Sirius was relieved to see that is was more warm and genuine than it had been. "Just take the compliment, you idiot."

Sirius smirked and pulled Remus back down next to him.

Remus nestled himself against his side again and let out a long breath. "Goodnight."

"Night, babe," Sirius replied softly.

Remus's eyes drifted shut, and Sirius was grateful. The poor man hadn't been sleeping well with the approaching moon, and any sleep he got was precious at this point.

Sirius stared at the cool silver light of the moon playing across the white ceiling, wishing sleep would come just as easily to him.

* * *

**There it is! I hope you liked it. The story will probably be told with a lot of flashbacks, and focus on the affect Romulus has on the family Remus and Sirius have created, and what he did in the past that has Sirius so up-and-arms about him. Voldemort will feature, as well as some other canon characters. Romulus will show up next chapter, so *fingers crossed* people stay interested even though this was kind of a background chapter. **

**I'll update as soon as I can, but I work for the next five days, so it may not be as fast as this one was.**

**Shoot me a review if you have the time! I really appreciate them so much, and they give me something to look froward to when I come home from work! Questions, comments, suggestions, anything constructive would be amazing:)**

**Thanks for taking time to read this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is chapter three! I couldn't get inspired all week, then all of a sudden when I got home from work at midnight, it hit me; it's now close to 3 a.m. and i have to be at work at 8 tomorrow. It was so worth it.**

**Anyway, THANK YOU SO MUCH, to all the people who alerted, favorited, and (especially) reviewed! It really means so much to me, and I like to hear what you all think. I get the alerts on my phone when I get a review and I save them all to read at the end of the day; they literally make me smile at my phone like an idiot. It means so much to me that you guys take the time to do that, so thank you.**

**WARNINGS: physical child abuse, sexual abuse of a parent to a child (nothing really graphic, but there is MINOR groping and some innuendo. The rest is implied), language (a few words people may find offensive, so I thought I'd warn you now), and SLASH**

**Sorry for the long A/N; I tend to get carried away with them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters in this story. They belong to J. K. Rowling.**

* * *

"Remus, stop pacing," Sirius entreated, looking up from the table at his ruffled lover. Remus paused in his pacing to send Sirius a harsh glare before he resumed walking a rut in the floor from the living room to the kitchen.

Sirius sighed and shrugged at Harry, rolling his eyes.

"He seems nervous," Harry raised an eyebrow and commented quietly, so Remus wouldn't hear. Sirius wasn't too concerned; Remus had been so distracted and lost in thought all morning it would be a miracle if he was listening in on them.

"He hasn't seen his brother in a long time," Sirius replied.

Sirius could tell Harry wanted to know more about Romulus. Last night, Remus had sat down across from Harry on the couch and explained softly that he and his brother had had a falling out years ago and didn't talk anymore. He'd shifted uncomfortably when Harry asked what they had fought over.

"It's complicated," Remus had muttered, running his hands through his hair and tugging the dark golden strands with his thin fingers. "We had a…an unconventional childhood, and it…it made it hard for us to have a relationship when we were older."

Sirius had seen the next question on Harry's lips before he asked it and cringed a little bit from where he was leaning in the doorway. "What do you mean, unconventional?"

Remus's expression shifted ever so slightly to conceal the emotions Sirius knew he was feeling and looked down at his hands. His Adam's apple bobbed and he answered Harry quietly, "After my mother died, my father…he was devastated." He smiled bitterly, the edges of his mouth hard. "He started drinking, and he was…he was a violent drunk."

"He hit you?" Harry blurted out, stunned. Remus flinched at the words, not as badly as he used to, but enough so Sirius noticed the sudden jarring of his body. Harry saw it and covered his mouth with his hands, inwardly berating himself for asking so abruptly. "I'm sorry, oh, God, Remus, I didn't mean to just ask that, I just never thought…"

Remus smiled reassuringly and shook his head. "It's not like I just bring it up casually, Harry. You don't have to feel bad." He put an arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled the young boy against his side. Harry pushed his arm between Remus and the back of the couch to hug him around the waist. He rested his head on Remus's shoulder and Remus absentmindedly stroked his wild hair.

"You don't…I mean, I always wondered why you never talked about your family," Harry's voice was hushed and hesitant. "I just thought…"

"Yeah," Remus drew his bottom lip under his teeth. "I know."

Sirius blinked, brought back to the present by a series of sharp raps on the door. Remus jumped, bumping into the small table in the hallway. He managed to catch the toppling vase before he skittered to the doorway. He stood in front of the door for a few moments to collect himself, wringing his hands together and taking deep breaths.

Sirius stood up and sauntered down the hallway towards the front door, leaving Harry at the kitchen table, the boy's eyes flickering from the closed door to his adoptive parents.

Sirius put an arm around Remus's waist and pulled the slim man back against his chest. Remus's hand went to cover Sirius's hand in his hip automatically and he twined his fingers through the bigger man's. Sirius squeezed his fingers reassuringly and reached out with his free hand to open the door.

Harry hadn't been sure what to expect, but he knew, at least, that it wasn't the six foot seven, broad shouldered man who stood on the front stoop. He had the same dusty golden hair as Remus, though his was shaved close to his head, and he beamed at the two men in the doorway, his smile bright and open. Harry had seen Remus smile like that a handful of times; when Harry had brought home a picture of his family from school (a little stick figure Harry was between Remus and Sirius, holding their hands, with two figures labeled "Mommy" and "Daddy" up in the clouds next to the sun); when Sirius had tried to bake a cake for Harry's fifth birthday and the kitchen looked like the pantry had exploded all over it (Sirius had always been horrible at cleaning spells and he'd had been terrified of how Remus would react when he got home. Remus had come home from Diagon Alley, laden with bags of gifts for Harry, stared at the mess for a few moments, and broken out into laughter, kissing Sirius's cheek and pulling a premade cake out of one of his bags); when Sirius had taught Harry how to fly and Remus had stood off to the side, leaning against a tree and watching them.

"Remus," the man said, his voice surprisingly quiet and soft for someone twice the size of a normal human being. "God…wow."

He stepped forward and pulled the surprised man into his arms. Sirius kept a grip on the back of Remus's shirt as he was pulled out of his arms and into his brother's. Remus tensed at first, but relaxed enough to awkwardly slide his arms around his brother's waist loosely.

Romulus held Remus at arm's length and looked him over, smiling widely. "God, Remus, you look…you look great, you look really good."

Remus smiled uncomfortably and tried to subtly wiggle out of Romulus's tight grasp. "Thanks. You…you, too." He successfully shook off Romulus's hands and stepped away, putting some space between them. Sirius reasserted his grip on Remus, wrapping his arm around his waist again and glaring warningly at Romulus.

There was a lull where Romulus was just looking at Remus, not speaking, his eyes flickering over his baby brother evaluatingly. He hadn't seen Remus since he was twenty, during the war. Remus looked a lot healthier, though he was as thin as he'd ever been and there were shadows under his eyes; hazards of being a werewolf, Romulus had learned over the years. There were a few new scars on his exposed forearms and peeking above the collar of his shirt. His hair fell in thick golden locks, curling at the ends, and Romulus recalled how many times he'd held the man standing in front of him when they were kids and run his hands through the distraught boy's soft hair, wiping away his tears and trying to calm him as they listened to their father throw himself at the basement door and scream for them to get out there and take what they deserved.

Remus stepped aside, clearing his throat. "Come in. I…I'll show you where you can stay, we don't really have a lot of space. I hope you don't mind, the extra room is kind of small. It was supposed to be an office, but I haven't had the time to actually organize it. I just transfigured the desk into a bed, if it's not comfortable, you can do what you want to it, I just thought, you know, for spacing…"

"You're rambling, love," Sirius muttered against Remus's temple and pressed his lips to the pale skin. "It's alright, he'll be fine."

Romulus's lip automatically curled at the endearment and the sight of Sirius's lips against the side of his brother's head. He realized what he was doing and schooled his face quickly into a neutral expression. He wasn't going to screw this up. "He's right, Rem, I'll be fine."

Sirius felt Remus's body tense at the nickname. He knew Remus hated begin called that, or any variation of it. His brother was the only one who had ever been allowed to, and that privilege was taken away the second he left Remus at home alone with their abusive father.

"Don't call me that," Remus said firmly, pulling away from Sirius and turning to walk to the kitchen. "I suppose you should meet Harry, if you'll be here for a while."

Romulus blinked at Remus's retreating back, stunned by the sharp reprimand, but followed him into the kitchen without a word.

Harry stood up when they came into the room and put a smile on his face. Remus's brother held out his hand and Harry took it.

"Good to meet you, Harry," Romulus shook the boy's hand.

"You, too," Harry shifted his weight uncomfortably under the bigger man's gaze. He felt like Romulus was studying him, trying to see what he was thinking…his gaze felt like it was penetrating Harry's skull and looking into his mind. He met the man's gaze for a few moments, noting the difference between Romulus's eyes and Remus's; Romulus's were a dark, deep blue in contrast to Remus's light, flecked hazel.

"Remus has always been so proud of you," Romulus went on, letting go of Harry's hand after a moment longer than was normal. "You should have heard the way he went on about you when you first started walking. You said his name first, his nickname, anyway. Moony. It was your first word."

"How do you know that?" Sirius demanded, crossing his arms and leaning on the kitchen wall. "It's not like you were around much for him."

Harry had the distinct feeling that they weren't talking entirely about him, and slid back into his chair quietly. He felt a hand on his shoulder a moment later and glanced at Remus, who smiled reassuringly and rolled his eyes. Harry cracked a small smile.

"I went to Order meetings," Romulus pointed out defensively. "Even if we didn't have heart to heart chats about our lives, I paid attention, I listened to him talk to other people there. It wasn't hard to figure out that he loved this kid, even before you two adopted him."

"He has a name," Remus said sharply, his hand tightening on Harry's shoulder.

Romulus's eyes narrowed inquisitively as he considered his younger brother silently.

Sirius cleared his throat, uncomfortable with the sudden silence and spoke, "I'll show you your room, Romulus. Remus, why don't you go check on the fish? I forgot to feed them this morning."

"We don't have any—," Remus's fingers dug sharply into his shoulder and Harry yelped, turning to give him a look of betrayed confusion.

"I think I will," Remus replied innocently. "Join me, Harry?"

Harry nodded and stood up, rubbing his shoulder.

"Do you mind if I take a look around the grounds?" Romulus asked. "It looks lovely outside, and I have a meeting with my lawyer tomorrow, so I'd like to make use of my free time today. Gorgeous garden out there, Remus."

"Sirius takes care of it," Remus replied. "I've never had a green thumb. You know that."

"I do recall the dead cactus I got you that stayed in our window for seven years because you refused to get rid of it," Romulus grinned. "It's probably still there."

"It's not," Remus said shortly. "I threw it out when I turned fourteen."

Romulus pursed his lips and rubbed his forehead tiredly.

* * *

_"Rom?" Remus peered into their small bedroom. He could hear his brother moving around; the sound of drawers sliding open, hangers scraping against the wooden rod in the closet as he pushed clothes aside. "What are you doing?"_

_ "Remus," Romulus straightened up where he stood at his bedside, a shirt clutched in his hands and dangling over an open suitcase. "I thought you were asleep on the couch."_

_ "I woke up," Remus watched Romulus suspiciously. Romulus shifted uncomfortably under his brother's scrutiny. "What are you doing?"_

_ "I'm just cleaning…" Romulus lied weakly. "Going through some stuff…"_

_ "You're packing," Remus corrected him abruptly. "Where are you going?"_

_ "I…Rem, sit down," Romulus sighed and motioned to the bed. "C'mon."_

_ "I'd rather stand, thank you," Remus said stiffly, crossing his arms over his chest. "Where are you going?"_

_ Romulus ran his hands through his hair and let out a long breath, trying to find the words to explain himself. "I…I'm staying with a friend for a little while this summer."_

_ "We've only been home a week," Remus pointed out, stepping further into the room and pulling the door shut so their father couldn't hear. The man had passed out about an hour ago and Remus hadn't heard from him since, but who knew when he would wake up again. _

_ "A week too long," Romulus said under his breath, thinking back to a few hours ago. _

_**Remus had tripped over the hall rug and knocked over a picture frame; he was tired and the approaching full moon dulled his reflexes and awareness. It smashed to the floor into large shards. Remus had moved to pick them up before their father could see, praying desperately that the picture hadn't been wrecked (it was of their mother), and been roughly shoved to his knees by an aggressive hand on his back. **_

_** John had heard the glass break on the wood floor and pushed his youngest roughly to the floor. Remus caught himself with his hands, but, unfortunately, fell right onto the shards of glass. A few pieces sliced into his hands and wrists, drawing blood that sluggishly ran down his pale skin. **_

_** "Pick it up," John snarled. "For God's sake, Remus, do you break everything you touch? I swear to God, if that picture is torn, you'll regret being born."**_

_** Remus swallowed hard, pushing down the useless thought that he already did. He didn't have the time or the energy to indulge in self-pity right then. He gingerly plucked the photo from the broken frame, careful to avoid the glass that would slice his hands up even more. The photo wasn't irrevocably damaged, just slightly bent.**_

_** John snatched the photo out of Remus's shaking hands and looked it over, carefully bending it back so it was flat again. A small crease remained across the woman's face, slicing through her golden hair and one of her light hazel eyes. She smiled at them warmly and John felt something in his chest stir. He glanced over at Remus, who had pushed himself to his feet and was standing there quietly, as if he thought that if he didn't move, John couldn't see him.**_

_** John flicked the photo aside so it drifted to rest on the small table and turned his attention to Remus, who flinched when he felt his father's gaze on him. He shrank back against the wall, trying in vain to make himself smaller. **_

_** That made John grin, in an uncomfortably predatory way. Remus had grown in the year he'd been gone at school; he was fourteen, that day was his birthday. He was slim, like his mother had been, but there was something undeniably male in his lightly muscled, lithe frame; John didn't mind, truth be told. He loved his wife (who Remus was practically a carbon copy of), but he also wasn't opposed to the flat planes of a man's body. **_

_** He took a few steps forward, effectively pinning Remus to the wall.**_

_** Remus tried to push him away, to get some space between them. "Dad, please…"**_

_** "You look just like her," John murmured, stroking Remus's soft hair with his rough hands, running his thumb over Remus's cheekbone. "You got her eyes."**_

_** "Dad…" Remus muttered, pushing himself back against the wall in an effort to move away, though he knew it was useless; trying to escape hadn't worked for ten years, why would it now?**_

_** "You act like you don't want this, Remus," John's voice was right in his ear, his breath ghosting across Remus's skin hotly. He didn't smell like alcohol, and that made it worse. At least when his father was drunk, Remus could blame it on the whiskey. "But be serious. You like it, don't you? You respond…favorably." His hands drifted lower, curling around the waistband of Remus's jeans. Remus's breath hitched as the insistent fingers tugged them lower on his hips. "You take it and squirm under me like a good little slut. Why do you think I chose you, and not your brother, huh?" Remus tensed as the hands probed lower and he was pressed more firmly into the wall. He tried unsuccessfully to block out his father's words. "I can see it in you, babe. I could always tell that you'd be the one who would spread his legs like a good little slut, because you want it so goddamned bad from a man." Remus whimpered and turned his face away, closing his eyes tightly, like that could stop the words from ripping into his heart. "I'm just giving you what you want, sweetheart." Remus felt one of his father's hands move upward to grip his chin tightly and force Remus to look at him. "Open your eyes." Remus complied reluctantly, figuring it was a small thing; he would pick his battles. John smiled at him softly and touched his face. "You're so beautiful, Remus."**_

_** He sealed his lips over Remus's, and Remus let his eyes fall shut again as he tried to hold back tears.**_

_Romulus had heard the crash and decided to wait it out. He'd taken a lot for Remus. He'd tried to protect him, and he couldn't, and it was killing him. He had been offered a place to stay for the summer, with one of his best friends from school, and he'd decided at the last minute to go. Remus was fourteen now; it was time he took care of himself. Romulus had paid his dues to this family._

_ Now, looking at his younger brother, Romulus felt a twinge of guilt. Remus's hands were bandaged and he was shifting uncomfortably as he stood; Romulus didn't want to think about why._

_ "When will you be back?" Remus asked, pulling Romulus's attention back to the present. Romulus regarded his younger brother; Remus was filling out, strong in an understated way; he had serious eyes, flecked with gold, that made him look older than he was (he'd certainly been through more than the average fourteen year old); and he wore a loose sweater that he tugged at the threadbare sleeves of and jeans that had once been Romulus's, but now fit the younger boy quite nicely. He wasn't a kid any more._

_ "I can't do this anymore, Remus," Romulus admitted softly. He moved closer to his brother to clasp his biceps tightly. "You have to understand. This is killing me. I can't protect you. I have to get out, I have to leave."_

_ "You think leaving will help?" Remus demanded angrily. "He'll be furious when he finds out."_

_ "I've made up my mind," Romulus said firmly. "I'm almost seventeen. By the time he tries to make me come home, I'll be of age."_

_ "You're leaving me here alone?" Remus asked, his voice suddenly small and scared. He chewed on his thumbnail, his wide desperate eyes watching Romulus pack. "I…Romulus, please, please, don't go, you can't. Or take me with you. Please…"_

_ "I can't," Romulus replied, bracing himself with his arms over his suitcase and taking a deep breath. "He can get you back, you're too young. You'd get hurt; the Ministry isn't really werewolf friendly, you know that. They wouldn't be nice about dragging you back here."_

_ Remus watched his brother wordlessly as he zipped his suitcase, all of his belongings neatly packed inside. Remus's feathery hair fell in thick locks in front of his eyes, hiding them from view. Romulus was glad; he didn't think he could have handled seeing the look of betrayal in them._

_ He lifted the case and set it on the floor. He reached out to hug Remus. Remus flinched at the touch. "C'mon, Rem. Please."_

_ Romulus pulled Remus into his arms, holding his little brother tightly to him. He didn't want to let go ever; but he had to. He couldn't do any of this anymore. He buried his face in Remus's thick hair and pressed a kiss to the teenager's head. "I love you."_

_ Remus's fingers curled into the front of Romulus's shirt and when Remus spoke, Romulus could feel his brother's breath on his shoulder through the thin fabric. "He'll kill me."_

_ "You're so much stronger than him," Romulus muttered, squeezing his slim body more tightly before letting him go. He gently untangled Remus's fingers from his shirt and leaned down to pick up his case. "I've got to go. I'm meeting Mike in town in ten minutes for a ride."_

_ Remus didn't reply, but swallowed hard. His throat hurt and ached; so did his chest, worse than the rest of his battered body._

_ Romulus gave Remus a sad, regretful smile. He reached to press a small box into Remus's hand. "Happy Birthday."_

_ And then he was gone._

_ Remus didn't watch him walk away. He plopped down on the floor, let out a small cry of pain, and tore the newspaper off the box Romulus had given him. He ripped off the lid, tears streaming down his face, barely able to get his hands steady enough to open the box; he didn't want to think about how Romulus was walking away, about how he could still run out there and beg him not to go. _

_ A glint of gold caught Remus's eye when he opened the lid. He dug through the tissue paper and pulled out a long gold chain. A ring was strung on it; the ring was gold, made up of thin strands of gold woven in an intricate design, and had a small red stone set in it. A scrap of paper fluttered to the ground when the tissue paper was disturbed. Remus picked it up and made out the words through the blurriness in his eyes._

_ REMUS,_

_ THIS WAS MUM'S WEDDING RING. SHE LEFT IT TO ME WHEN SHE DIED TO GIVE TO MY WIFE SOMEDAY. I FIGURE YOU NEED IT MORE THAN I DO NOW, TO REMEMBER THAT DAD WASN'T ALWAYS BAD. SHE LOVED HIM ONCE. SHE LOVED YOU, TOO, AND I LOVE YOU. REMMEBER THAT WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS. I HOPE IT GIVES YOU STRENGTH._

_ROM_

_ Remus's fingers closed around the note, crumpling it into a tiny ball, and he clutched the ring in his hand as he curled up and buried his face in his arms, letting the tears soak through the thick wool of his sweater._

* * *

Remus remember that when he'd stopped crying, he'd felt angrier than he'd ever felt in his life, and he'd pitched the small, pathetic plant out the window and watched the pot shatter against the concrete driveway. He'd gotten smacked for that later, but it was worth it.

Romulus turned back to Harry. "Your parents are buried on the property?"

"Yeah," Harry replied, eyebrows drawing together. "Why?"

"I'd heard it through the grapevine," Romulus shrugged, apparently unconcerned. "I just wondered…"

"Yeah, well, I'll show you your room, now," Sirius cut in. "C'mon, it's down this way."

He disappeared down the hallway. Romulus glanced at Remus and followed.

Remus and Harry made their way upstairs, not speaking. Remus perched on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at the opposite wall. Harry climbed onto the mattress and scooted closer to Remus.

"He's only here for a little while, right?" Harry said. It was half a question, half a reassurance.

Remus blinked, his eyes clearing, and nodded. "Yes. Not long." He was silent a few moments before he added softly. "He's never really been one to stay anywhere very long."

* * *

**Thanks for reading!**

**I haven't decided if I can work Voldemort in, but at the very least, there will be Death Eater trying to bring him back. I don't want to screw with the actual timeline too much. **

**Please review if you have a second! I appreciate them so much, and I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	4. Chapter 4

**And here's chapter four! Thank you to every one for their reviews and favorites and alerts, I really appreciate it!**

**WARNINGS: child abuse (physical and sexual, though I think it's mostly just implied in this chapter), mild torture (implied), language, and SLASH**

* * *

When Harry woke up the next morning, he found himself curled up between Remus and Sirius, buried under the thick blankets on their bed. Sirius shifted in his sleep slightly when he felt Harry move. His fingers tightened around Remus's hand where they were twined together over Harry's thin body. Harry yawned and rolled onto his back so he could look up at the ceiling, feeling safe and protected with the comforting weight of his adoptive parents' arms draped over him.

"Morning, sweetheart," Remus said softly.

Harry started, surprised at the voice in his ear, and turned to face Remus. "Morning."

One corner of Remus's mouth twitched into a smile, but Harry could still see the purple circles under his tired eyes.

Harry stretched and rolled his shoulders, cracking his back. "Remember I'm going to see Ron at ten."

"I remember," Remus said, shifting to lie on his back and letting go of Sirius's hand. Sirius whined in his sleep at the loss of contact, but didn't wake up; he just rolled over and slept on. "Sirius and I were planning on going into Diagon Alley today to get your birthday presents."

"Don't go overboard," Harry said, equal parts wishing they wouldn't and wishing they would. They weren't the poorest they'd ever been, though they were by no means rich, and Harry sort of hoped that Sirius had convinced Remus to get him a broom this year, since they could afford it. Remus had found a job at a Muggle shop where they didn't miss him a few days a month and Sirius had been steadily employed as an Auror since the war ended. However, something bad always seemed to happen just when it seemed like things were under control, and Harry knew Remus was concerned about saving as much as they could for the times when he was between jobs. In the periods where Remus had been unemployed because of the difficulty of finding a job as a werewolf, Sirius's paycheck covered the rent and food, but not much else.

"Overboard?" Remus raised his eyebrows innocently. His hair was a ruffled mess and he was wearing one of Sirius's t-shirts that draped off one shoulder and flannel pajama bottoms and Harry was suddenly struck by how young he was, how young Sirius was, too, and how much they'd taken on before they had even turned twenty three. "I will do no such thing. Your godfather, however, is an expert at going overboard when he goes gift shopping, and sometimes it's better for me to just let him have his fun."

"I heard that, Remus," Sirius mumbled into the pillow. "Don't act like you're above spoiling him, because you've been the one to indulge him in whatever he's wanted since the day he was born."

"You make me sound like a brat," Harry whined good-naturedly, hitting the back of Sirius's head lightly. "He's not that bad."

"My, God, Harry, you have no idea," Sirius rolled over so he could prop himself up against the headboard and look at the dark haired boy, smiling teasingly. "He literally couldn't stand to let you cry when you were a baby. Lily always told him to let you cry yourself out, so you'd learn to calm yourself down. He couldn't do it; he'd sneak in and rock you until you fell asleep."

"I never agreed with that idea in parenting," Remus smiled sheepishly. "It's not like you knew what was going on; you just wanted someone to pick you up and hold you."

"It obviously didn't do too much damage," Harry rolled his eyes at Sirius, but frowned when he realized Sirius's gaze was blank and far away.

_ "Please, Harry," Sirius held the baby tightly and hunched over in the uncomfortable hospital chair as Harry wailed as loudly as his little lungs would allow. "Please, stop, stop crying…"_

_ Sirius's voice choked with his own tears and he fought the urge to join Harry and just curl up an cry and scream and yell because Lily and James were dead, oh, God, no, they were dead and Harry didn't have parents anymore, and Sirius's best friend and the woman he loved and married and had a child with were gone, declared dead five minutes ago, officially, and they would never see Harry get his Hogwarts letter or fly or graduate or get married…_

_ "Sirius!"_

_ Sirius's head jerked up at the familiar voice and he had to admit he was stunned to see a drained, beaten Remus Lupin staggering across the hospital waiting room towards him. Remus was wearing a shirt that was huge on him and stained with blood and dirt and pants he had to keep hitching up. His hair fell into his eyes in thick clumps. He was bruised and bleeding, his bottom lip split open and a dark splotch forming rapidly on his face, but he was somehow still standing and determinedly making his way over to Sirius and Harry._

_ "Remus!" Sirius stood up, swayed on his feet, steadied himself, and reached out to push Remus into a chair; he looked ready to pass out. "What happened? I thought you were underground until next week. Are you alright? My God, Remus, are you okay? Do you need to get checked out? Do you-?"_

_ "I'm fine, Sirius," Remus cut him off quickly, yanking Sirius down into the chair next to him. "Sit down, for God's sake. Are they..? I heard, but…is it true?"_

_ Sirius blinked back tears, feeling a lump creeping up his throat and choking him. He nodded and swallowed hard; it hurt. He returned his attention to Harry. "Shhh…Harry…please…please stop…" Harry continued to cry._

_ Remus stared at his hands, dazed. Sirius wished desperately that Remus would take the baby; he could always get Harry to quiet down. He knew it wasn't fair, that Remus had been through just as much hell as he had that night, but he selfishly wanted someone to fix this. "Why are you back?"_

_ "My cover was blown," Remus replied mechanically, his voice blank and face expressionless. "They found out I was part of the Order. I got away before they could…I got away in time." He paused as a shudder ran through his body. He hoped Sirius didn't notice. "You found them?"_

_ Sirius nodded and Remus met his partner's gray eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his chest at the sheer amount of anguish and desperation and fear he saw. Sirius didn't like to show weakness, not even to Remus; he was at the end of his rope, ready to break down._

_ Remus realized Harry was crying, something he was usually so tuned in to, but the ringing in his ears had seemed to drown it out. He reached out and took Harry in his shaking hands. Sirius released him and watched as Remus adjusted the baby against him so he could rub soothing circles on Harry's stomach and Harry's ear was pressed to his chest._

_ Sirius ran a hand through Harry's unruly hair (don't think of James, don't think of James…), relieved when Harry's cries quieted and he drifted to sleep. "How do you do that?"_

_ "Heartbeats tend to calm children down," Remus replied automatically, bowing his head over Harry so his hair hid his face. His body was shuddering with the after effects of the Cruciatus. His head pounded and his eyes burned. "My brother used to hold me like that when I got upset…" Remus's voice broke on the word brother and he hunched over further, practically wrapped around Harry like some sort of cocoon._

_ "Let's go home," Sirius begged quietly, wrapping his arms around Remus's waist and pressing his face into the werewolf's shoulder. He felt a tear slip down his cheek. "Please."_

_ Remus had Apparated them home and collapsed. Sirius had frantically torn the shirt open to see what was wrong, and saw how thin Remus had gotten, the mottled mess of bruises his chest had become, the long, jagged tears ripping through his pale, damaged skin, and he'd felt Remus's taxed body shudder under his hands and jerk spasmodically; he recognized the symptoms from Auror training and from what he'd heard about the Longbottom's fate. _

_ "Oh, God, Remus," he breathed and moved to lightly slap Remus's face. "Remus, wake up. C'mon. C'mon, babe."_

_ Sirius realized that Harry was still in Remus's arms, clutched to his chest even while Remus was unconscious. He pried the baby out of Remus's arms and carried him to the spare room where they had the extra crib set up for when they babysat. Harry didn't wake, thank God. Small blessings._

_ Sirius returned to Remus, who had begun to stir and was coming around. His eyes flickered open and met Sirius's. Sirius didn't bother trying to hide the tears running freely down his face._

_ Remus reached out and pulled Sirius to him without hesitation. Sirius returned the embrace just as fiercely, pressing his face into Remus's neck. Remus felt tears drip and curve around his collarbone. Remus himself couldn't find the energy to cry; he felt strangely detached, and completely drained._

_ After a few moments, Sirius sniffled loudly and stood up, pulling Remus with him and supporting him as he guided the smaller man to the bed in their small flat. Remus collapsed on the mattress and curled up into a ball, unable to stand anymore. _

_ "He's an orphan," Sirius said softly, breaking the silence._

_ Remus raised his face from his arms and shook his head. He was quiet a moment before replying softly, "No, he's not."_

Sirius still remembered that Remus hadn't slept and had spent the night trying to fight off the vicious shudders of pain wracking his body. Sirius had held him and Remus had clutched Sirius's shirt tightly as he'd rode out the waves of pain.

Looking at the man today, Sirius figured no one would see the hell Remus had been through; they would see a quiet, kind, albeit scarred man who genuinely wanted to help people and take care of his family. He didn't give off the dangerous air of someone who had been pushed to extreme measures in order to survive and who could kill without batting an eye. The thing most people didn't realize was that Remus was as dangerous when he was himself as he was when he was a werewolf. As mild as he appeared, he was a goddamned good wizard, and Sirius had seen him take down Death Eater like it was nothing, using the Killing Curse with disconcerting ease when it came to protecting the other Order members. Sometimes he was afraid for Remus and the amount of anger and self-destructive tendencies he had, hidden carefully away from everyone else.

"What are you staring at?" Remus shifted self-consciously.

Sirius blinked and shook his head, looking away and out the window. It was overcast, and the clouds cast a dark shadow over the grass that made it appear a rich emerald green. "Nothing. You're seeing Ron today, right, Harry?"

Harry nodded and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost nine. "I should go shower and get changed. I'll let you both know before I Floo over there."

He climbed over Sirius and out of bed. When he shut the door behind him, Remus slipped out of bed and plodded over to the closet. He selected a red turtleneck with a stretched collar and a pair of dark jeans from the hangers and tossed them onto the bed. "So have you decided which broom he'd like?"

"Hmmm?" Sirius hummed distractedly, watching Remus peel his t shirt off and toss it aside. His pajamas hung low on his slim hips. Sirius could see the lithe muscles of Remus's body move fluidly under the pale, scarred skin as he started to pull on a white t shirt to wear under his sweater.

He paused as he pulled the shirt over his head. "You're staring again."

Sirius smiled and leaned forward on his knees to grab the front of Remus's shirt and pull the smaller man towards him. Sirius pressed a kiss to his parted lips. "How could I not, beautiful?"

Remus smiled against Sirius's lips and pushed him away lightly. "Stop it, Sirius."

"I know you still don't believe me," Sirius pulled him back against his body as he kneeled on the edge of the bed so his knees bumped Remus's thighs. "But you are."

Remus gave Sirius that smile that made Sirius sure the man was just humoring him and didn't believe him in the slightest. He pursed his lips and twisted them into a small smile. "I wish you could see what I see."

Remus laughed and shook his head. "I really doubt that."

Sirius rolled his eyes and tugged Remus down for one more kiss. He looked into the kind hazel eyes inches from his own, taking in the man in front of him; the soft hair curling around his neck, the small smile tugging at his mouth, the feel of the trusting, relaxed slim body pressed against his own, the scars that swirled over his stomach and arms and the many more that were currently hidden under clothing, each of them a testament to the raw strength their owner possessed, the gentle hands in his own dark hair that threaded the strands through slim fingers as they moved across his scalp. "Seriously."

"Remus?" there was a sharp rap on the door and Romulus's voice called through the door. "I have no idea where anything is in the house. Can you come into the kitchen?"

"Yeah," Remus answered. He let out a soft sigh and dropped his forehead to the top of Sirius's head. Sirius felt Remus's warm breath ruffle his hair. After a moment, he kissed Sirius's hair and straightened up. "I'll meet you downstairs."

Sirius yawned and nodded, letting go of Remus reluctantly. "I'll be right there."

"Morning, Remus," Romulus greeted his brother when he finally made his way down to the kitchen. Romulus glanced at his watch. He had to "meet his lawyer" in an hour.

"Good morning," Remus replied, moving to the cupboards and shifting through the shelves. "What do you want? We have oatmeal. Do you still like oatmeal?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Romulus nodded, leaning back in his chair.

Remus set about heating up water in a kettle in the stove and nervously rearranged the boxes in one of the cupboards for something to do so he wouldn't have to turn and face Romulus, his shoulders tense. He wouldn't look at Romulus, and Romulus had to admit that it hurt.

"How have you been, Remus?" Romulus tried, hating how forced this was. He remembered when they were younger and the boy told him everything; there wasn't much about Remus's life that Romulus didn't know. Now he didn't even know where Remus worked. "Do you have a job?"

"I work at a Muggle shop downtown," Remus replied tersely. "I've been there for two years now."

Romulus nodded, taking in the information and storing it away. The kitchen was silent for a few moments, besides the creaking of the warming kettle. "You and Sirius…are you…areyoumarried?"

"What?" Remus turned to face his brother, having not understood the rushed words.

"Are you and him…married?" Romulus repeated more slowly, watching Remus closely for a reaction.

Remus looked away before their gazes could meet and leaned back on the counter, gripping the edges so hard his knuckles turned white. "We can't. Werewolves don't get much sympathy, but werewolves who fall in love with someone who's the same gender as them get even less. The Ministry would never allow it."

"I'm sorry," Romulus muttered, eyes trained on Remus's face.

Remus smiled humorlessly. "We both know you're not."

Romulus deserved that, he knew, but it still pained him to know that Remus was right.

_The first time he noticed, Romulus had been walking down the stone hallways of the castle to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, books piled in his arms and talking to Mike as they made their way to class. He paused when he felt people's eyes on him as he walked by, and he could have sworn one group of girls stopped whispering right as he passed, like they'd been talking about him._

_He brushed it off and continued on to class._

_When the same thing was still happening by dinner that night, he finally broke and snapped, "Why the hell is everyone staring at me?"_

_Mike shifted uncomfortably and shrugged, trying to look innocent and failing miserably. _

"_Mike, c'mon," Romulus sighed. "What is it? How bad can it be?"_

_He regretted it the second he said it. Especially when he heard Mike's hesitant response. "It…people found out that your brother's dating Sirius Black."_

"_What?" Romulus snorted, glancing over at the Gryffindor table. Remus was in his usual place with his three close friends. He and Black weren't even touching, they were just eating dinner like usual. They were even on opposite sides of the table. "No, he's not. That's ridiculous. Remus isn't…he's not…" How could he be, after years of continued abuse from their father? How could he let any man touch him like that when it would be so closely linked to the memory his father brutally ripping away his innocence?_

"_Snape caught them snogging out by the Willow," Mike shrugged. "Poor git's a bit put out. He always had a thing for your brother."_

"_What?" Romulus's voice rose a little in shock. "What are you talking about?"_

"_You should see how Lucius looks at him," Narcissa Black leaned over, dropping into their conversation, and rolled her eyes. "It's disgusting."_

"_Lucius?" Romulus repeated, stunned. He'd slipped up; he used to keep steady tabs on his brother and took notice of the people that seemed interested in him for less than innocent reasons, which was a number too high for Romulus's liking. Since he'd left home, he had to admit to himself that he hadn't been watching out for Remus at school as well as he should have. "I never noticed this. How did I not see any of this?"_

"_You didn't want to," Narcissa shrugged. "He's your brother, of course you don't see him like that. But he's not bad looking, Romulus. He's pretty, and Lucius tends to be attracted to pretty things."_

_Hearing the word 'pretty' being associated with Remus made Romulus's stomach twist. He remembered the way their father had stroked Remus's hair and called him that, twisting the simple compliment into an insult._

"_That's probably what Black sees in him," Romulus jumped a little when he heard Lucius's voice from behind him. The seventh year moved to perch on the seat next to Romulus and smiled. Romulus suppressed a shudder at the venomous air the grin had to it. Lucius made him want to cringe, but since Romulus was now officially in the Order, Dumbledore had given him clear instruction to try to get into Lucius's band of suspected Death Eaters. As much as he loathed Lucius, he had to put up with him for the sake of the Order. "Really, Lupin, Black's slept with half the students in this school. He probably liked the challenge of getting your brother to take him into his bed; Merlin knows I've been trying for years. Your brother is going to end up hurt."_

_Romulus gritted his teeth and clenched his hands into fists. "I really doubt you care much for his well-being, Malfoy."_

"_You're right, I don't," Lucius agreed readily, tilting his head and watching Remus from across the room. Romulus wanted to slap him for looking at his baby brother like that. "But I know you do."_

_It was strange and ominous and made Romulus uncomfortable, but he was still thinking of Lucius's previous words. He was right, Black was probably going to sleep with Remus and then move on, and Remus didn't deserve to be used like that with what he'd been through. What he was going through, Romulus reminded himself. Remus was still at home during breaks, ordered there by their father. Romulus didn't like to think of what happened when his father and Remus were alone together in that house; his chest constricted with the crushing weight of guilt._

_He stood up, anger growing as his mind raced with the thought of Remus being hurt by Black, of him willing to throw away the slim chance at having a semi normal life by shacking up with this guy, of Black leading him on…_

"_Remus," he snapped, coming to a stop a few feet from the Gryffindor table. "We need to talk."_

_Remus stiffened and turned around on the bench to face his older brother. "You and I don't have anything to talk about."_

"_I think we do," Romulus snarked, taking a step towards Remus._

_Remus stood up and crossed his arms. Romulus could see Black on the other side of the table looking uncertain as to whether he should step in or not. "What do you want, Romulus?"_

"_I want to know why the hell you're sleeping with Black?" I snarled, more harshly than I meant to._

_Remus flinched, but didn't look away. By now, the surrounding tables had stopped talking to listen, but Romulus and Remus barely noticed. "It's not any of your business who I'm in a relationship with."_

"_I'm your brother, or course it is," Romulus corrected him sharply. _

"_You're not my brother," Remus said lowly, his hazel eyes darkening. "You made your choice."_

"_I may not live in that hellhole, but I'm still related to you," Romulus ignored the sting that barb left in his heart. "And I forbid you to continue on with this ridiculous relationship. He's using you, Rem."_

"_You have no idea what you're talking about," Remus smiled bitterly. Most of the great Hall was silent by then, everyone enthralled by the argument between the two brothers who rarely spoke about their home lives or each other; even the teachers were listening. "You can't just walk in and out of my life when you want to. You haven't even spoken to me in almost a year. Why should I listen to you?"_

"_Because I want what's best for you," Romulus said truthfully, taking a step closer. Remus took a skittish step back._

"_Don't say that," he commanded softly. "If you wanted what's best for me, you wouldn't have left."_

"_Is that what this is about?" Romulus demanded. "Are you dating him to spite me? To spite Dad?"_

"_You and Dad have nothing to do with this," Remus growled. "Not everything I do has to be about you."_

"_Remus, you're confused," Romulus said, forcing himself to remain calm. He gripped Remus's arm firmly. Remus flinched at the touch, but didn't pull away. "You don't know what you want. It's understandable that you don't see what's happening. Black's offering you validation that Dad has never given you." He pulled Remus closer and added lowly. "Do you know what Black really wants from you?"_

"_You're wrong," Remus yanked his arm out of his brother's grip and took a step back to put more distance between them. "You don't know what you're talking about. That's not the only reason someone would want a relationship with me, Romulus."_

"_You don't see it, you've never seen it, you're so fucking innocent for someone who's been through what you have," Romulus shook his head and spoke quietly, suddenly acutely aware of everyone listening. "The way people look at you…For God's sake, Remus, you have no idea how hard I've worked to keep people from using you like this."_

"_He isn't using me," Remus repeated firmly, setting his jaw. "Please. Just leave me alone, I don't need you anymore. That's what you wanted all along, wasn't it?"_

_Romulus didn't know what happened, or what came over him, but one second he saw a flash of white and the next, his hand was stinging and Remus was clutching his cheek where a vibrant red mark in the shape of a palm was forming._

_Remus's expression didn't change, and Romulus saw some of the teachers leap up to break apart the argument. "I think Dad's made it obvious that hitting me won't change anything."_

_Romulus raised his hand, but when he went to bring it down across Remus's face again, he found he couldn't; someone had caught his wrist in a tight, unrelenting grip. Romulus found himself face to face with a, obviously very angry Sirius Black. When Black spoke, his voice was eerily calm. "Never. Again."_

"_Let go of me," Romulus grunted, trying to pull his hand out of Black's iron grip. _

"_I swear to God, if you ever fucking touch him again, I won't be nearly as calm as I am right now," Black growled, his face inches from Romulus's._

"_Sirius," Remus snapped wearily, gripping his boyfriend's arm and tugging his sleeve. "Just…just come on, okay? Let him go."_

_Black obeyed at once, and Romulus was so surprised he almost fell over as he was forced to quickly redistribute his weight to stand straight again. Romulus raised his eyebrows; Sirius Black didn't take orders, and he definitely didn't fret over any of his past conquests the way he was fretting over Remus right then. Black touched Remus's cheek and winced, but was all too aware that Remus had been hurt much, much worse than this before. Black sighed softly and trailed his hand down Remus's arm to take his hand._

"_Boys!" McGonagall snapped, coming to a halt a few paces away from them. "I want all of you in my office. Right now."_

"_I think I'll be joining you, Minerva," all three boys started when Dumbledore's voice put in from behind McGonagall. "I have a few questions myself." His serious, troubled gaze lingered on Remus before flickering back to McGonagall. _

"What did Dumbledore ask you about that day, when he took you to his office?" Romulus asked, recalling how he'd seen Remus leave Dumbledore's office right after Romulus had been allowed to leave after being suitably lectured by McGonagall. Remus had been rubbing his eyes irritably and practically collapsed into Sirius's arms outside the gargoyle, clinging to the taller boy like he was the only thing Remus had left.

Remus pursed his lips and moved the screeching kettle from the stove. "You remember that?"

"Yes," Romulus replied shortly. "What did he say?"

"He was asking about Dad," Remus replied quietly, pouring the hot water over the dry oats in the chipped glass bowl. "He was concerned that you had left, wanted to know why. He asked about how Dad and I got along. Things like that."

"What did you tell him?" Romulus asked carefully, afraid he was asking too many questions and would scare Remus into shutting him out and refusing to respond.

Remus turned and put the oatmeal on the opposite edge of the table from Romulus, as if he was afraid to get too close. He snorted derisively. "What do you think I told him? You left because you and him fought and you were an unruly teenager who wanted more freedom than he'd give you. Him and me got along great. No problems."

"He believed you?" Romulus asked.

Remus shrugged and picked at a spot of dried sauce on the counter. "No. But he couldn't do anything about it if I wouldn't tell him."

"You should have," Romulus said quickly. Remus shot him an accusing glare and opened his mouth to reply, but Romulus cut him off. "No, I should have. You were just a kid, you don't deserve to get blamed for that. I should have told Dumbledore what was happening the second I got to Hogwarts, I should have told one of our Muggle teachers when we were little, I should have told someone."

"We didn't have a choice," Remus said quietly.

"Yes, we did," Romulus shook his head.

Remus raised an eyebrow, the way Romulus remembered so clearly from when Remus had done it constantly as a teenager; their Dad had hated it. Romulus smiled a little. "That used to piss Dad off."

"Why do you think I learned how to do it?" Remus smirked, leaning back on the counter.

Romulus laughed, and Remus jumped a little, like the sound surprised him. It wasn't perfect, but at least Remus was talking to him again.

Romulus smiled, but his chest ached with an empty, guilty feeling; he hated that whatever progress he made with patching up their relationship over the next few days would be torn to shreds a matter of hours after the Moon.

* * *

**The way I wanted this chapter to happen didn't happen, because it got too long, so I'm just going to split it into two and give you guys an update now. I hope you liked it.**

**Review if you have a second! I didn't get too much of a response for the last chapter and I want to know if people are still interested, or if you're all thinking, "What the hell is she doing with this story?" Let me know what you think! (Especially about the flashbacks, because I know there are a lot of them and people don't always necessarily like that. I just thought it would be the best way to tell certain parts of the story.) I'm thinking next chapter will be part one of "The Reason Sirius Hates Romulus So Much", which, believe it or not hasn't happened yet, even if Romulus has kind of been a jerk.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five! I apologize in advance for any weird formatting; it uploaded really weird and I had to reformat it, like, four times (I've been working on the format for an hour and a half), so I don't know what this will look like to you guys until I post it. **

**Thank you for all the reviews (and favorites and follows)! I really love hearing what you guys have to say, and it lets me know you're interested, so please leave on if you have the time! I really appreciate it. **

**WARNINGS: mentions of child abuse, some language (maybe), and RAPE (thought it's not really graphic) I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

* * *

"What about this one?" Remus examined one of the brooms on display. Truth be told, he had little to no idea what constituted a "good broom", but he figured that this one must be nice, considering the staggeringly high price on the tag.

Sirius snorted and ruffled Remus's hair playfully. "I'm sure Harry would appreciate that you tried to help, Remus."

Remus shrugged, not overly concerned that he and followed Sirius as the taller man made his way across the store towards a broom on display on the other side of the room. Remus found himself running into Sirius's chest when Sirius stopped walking suddenly and turned to face him, gripping Remus's arms tightly. "Sirius, what are you-?"

Sirius scrutinized him with concern and brushed Remus's hair out of his eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Remus replied, cocking an eyebrow at Sirius. He was a little tired and sore, but that always happened before the Moon. It wasn't anything new. "Stop worrying, Sirius. I've been doing this since I was five."

"That," Sirius sighed softly and squeezed Remus's arms, pulling the man closer to him for a quick hug, appreciating the solid reassurance that Remus was there with him, safe. "Is not what I was talking about."

"I don't know what you mean, then," Remus shrugged and moved away from Sirius, rubbing his own arms and looking around self-consciously. No one was looking at them, though; the store was relatively empty. "Is that the broom you wanted? I don't see how it's any different than the one I pointed out…"

Sirius let it go, knowing he wouldn't get anything from Remus if the man was determined to shut him out, and followed Remus over to the broom he'd been eyeing a few moments ago.

* * *

"…so I told him that if he was going to keep lying, I'd get a warrant and we'd find the stuff anyway," Sirius shifted the long, wrapped package in his arms and held it more tightly to himself. Diagon Alley wasn't horribly crowded, not nearly as bad as it was at the beginning of the school year, but it was fairly busy.

"I'm assuming you found his stash," Remus allowed a small grin to tug at his mouth. As much as he still felt guilt about the way they'd treated Snape at Hogwarts, he couldn't help but feel a little resentment towards the man after the way he'd been treating Harry.

"Of course we did," Sirius saw Remus's lips quirk into a smile. He was proud of Remus for letting his bitter feelings for Snape show instead of pushing them aside, but felt the familiar stir of resentment at the thought of why Remus disliked Snape so much. "But somehow, while we were gone to get a warrant from a judge, he got a permit for the dragon blood, dated a week before the delivery date on the bottles."

"Damn," Remus muttered. "Of course he did. I'd be disappointed if he hadn't."

"Dumbledore would never let us arrest him anyway," Sirius pointed out, knowing exactly what Remus would say to that before the words came out of his mouth. "He's probably the one who forged him the permit the second he heard we searched the creep's office."

Remus rolled his eyes and tilted his head in agreement. "I trust Dumbledore. Even if Snape is…is a jerk, it doesn't mean that he's a Death Eater."

Sirius shook his head and moved the broom to one arm so he could wrap the other around Remus's waist. Remus allowed him to pull him closer to his side and moved his arm so it was loosely draped around Sirius's waist. Maybe it was because he was getting older, or because Harry's upcoming birthday was making him sentimental, but Sirius smiled at the feel of Remus's strong arm circled around his waist and the man's slim body pressed against his side.

"Your capacity for forgiveness never ceases to amaze me," Sirius pursed his lips and squeezed Remus's waist tightly.

Remus smiled humorlessly and ducked his head so his honey colored hair hid his eyes. "It's not forgiveness."

* * *

Snape saw them before Lucius did. He stopped halfway through what he was saying about the potion Lucius was asking about and stared, caught off guard by seeing Black and Lupin making their way down the cobblestone street. Black's arm wound its way around the werewolf's waist and pulled him closer; Snape's lip curled. Lupin smiled shyly at his partner, ducking his head and hiding his grin with his thick golden hair. Black looked inordinately pleased with himself for making Lupin smile. It was pathetic.

"What are you looking at Severus?" Lucius asked, turning and following Snape's gaze with his pale eyes until they came to rest on Black and Lupin. When he saw them, his eyebrows drew together for a moment before his lips unfurled into a lazy grin. "Oh. What a pleasant surprise."

"Malfoy," Snape said warningly, not liking the look in Lucius's eye. "Leave him be."

"I just want to say hello," Lucius said innocently, and he was striding away towards the couple before Snape could say anything to stop him. Lucius intercepted Black and Lupin as they weaved through the people on the street and made their way towards the exit into the Leaky Cauldron.

Black caught sight of Malfoy first and stopped short, gripping Lupin's arm to stop him before he could run right into Lucius.

"Malfoy," Black greeted him coldly. He shifted his body so that he was standing protectively in front of Lupin, trying to block him from Lucius's view.

"Black," Lucius nodded to him before moving his eyes to Lupin, his smile lazy and suggestive. "Remus."

"Excuse us," Black tried to push by Lucius, but found himself being easily blocked by the man. Lucius grinned down at them, his gaze raking over Lupin's body. Black turned to go around him, pulling Lupin with him, and snarling at Lucius, but stopped when he saw Snape standing there. He shifted Lupin behind him again, clutching at the smaller man's jacket to move him firmly out of Snape's line of vision. "What do you want?"

"We just came over to say hello, see how you were doing," Lucius said, voice dripping with false politeness. "I haven't seen you in years, Remus. Not since Hogwarts."

"I was hoping to keep it that way," Lupin said, his normally soft voice harsh.

"I certainly wasn't," Lucius smiled. "I heard your brother was around again because he got divorced. He must be on his third wife by now."

Lupin raised his eyebrows in reluctant agreement. Snape noticed that Lupin was gripping the hem of Black's shirt tightly.

"Tell him I said hello," Lucius said, leaning closer to Lupin. Black snarled quietly and tried to push the werewolf further behind him. Lupin shot him a dark look and pulled away from Black, obviously wanting to show he could protect himself (but kept an iron grip on Black's shirt, Snape noted). "And tell him I said thank you, you know. For letting us borrow you from your Daddy."

There was a sudden flurry of motion and a loud thump and crack, and next thing Snape knew, Lucius was on the ground, pinned there by a furious Remus Lupin. Lupin's chest heaved and he gripped the front of Lucius's robes, digging his knees into Malfoy's elbows to keep him from moving his arms. He leaned over Lucius, his honey colored hair falling around his flushed cheeks. "Stay the fuck away from me. I'm not a scared kid anymore, and I will not let you do this to me."

And damn it if the only thought Snape had at that moment was of how fucking beautiful Remus Lupin had turned out to be.

* * *

Romulus made his way to Dumbledore's office, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. This was the last time he was going to have to pretend to get along with the old man; he'd been putting up with him for far too long, and Romulus had a few questions for the man that he wanted answers to before everything came out into the open after the Moon. He gave the Gargoyle the password (Sugar Quills; Romulus hated them, Remus had always been the one with a sweet tooth), and it jumped aside to let him in.

"Hello, Romulus," Dumbledore greeted him, sliming warmly and motioning to the chair in front of his desk. "I trust you're well."

"I'm fine," Romulus nodded, taking a seat. "Staying with Remus for now, at least. Until I can find a new place."

"I'm sorry to hear about your divorce," Dumbledore said sincerely.

Romulus smiled politely. "Thank you." She was an idiot and only wanted me for my money, and yet again, I have to watch my love life fall apart while my werewolf brother has his fucking perfect relationship with Sirius Black, but thank you.

"Has there been any movement by the Death Eaters on your end?" Dumbledore asked after a few moments, examining Romulus curiously, obviously wondering why he was there.

Romulus shrugged and shook his head. "No. There have been murmurs of the Dark Lord returning, but no one has found any concrete evidence to go off of yet. Even if someone did find him, there would be virtually no way to bring him back completely without Harry's blood."

"I suppose that's a good thing," Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Harry is protected by the blood spell so long as Lily and James are buried on the property, and besides that Remus has an unusual aptitude when it comes to wards. That cottage is one of the safest places Harry can be."

"Listen, Albus," Romulus began softly. "If…if someone did somehow get rid of Harry's parents, moved them off the property…would the blood spell hold?"

"No," Dumbledore replied, regarding Romulus with mild suspicion and surprise. "Why do you ask?"

"I need to know what to look out for," Romulus lied smoothly. He could feel the old man picking at his mind to see if he was telling the truth and he almost scoffed out loud. If he couldn't shield his thoughts perfectly from the view of others, how far would he have gotten when he was spying on Lucius? "If I them start to talk about the bodies, I'll know what they're planning. Is there any other way to break the spell, anything I should watch out for?"

"No, that's the only way," Dumbledore seemed satisfied with the answer. "And Lucius remains unsuspecting?"

"Of course," Romulus nodded, firmly thinking only about how he was gathering information for Dumbledore, and letting none of his true intentions slip to the front of his mind. "He has no idea I'm working for you."

"Very good," Dumbledore smiled, eyes twinkling kindly. It made Romulus sick. Dumbledore could sit here and use them like pawns, and people kept on with it, kept following his orders because he made you feel like you actually mattered to him in the scheme of things. He still had Remus believing it, and it wasn't right; Dumbledore gave him the validation Remus so desperately craved from their own father. "Is there anything else?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about what happened my seventh year here," Romulus said carefully, biting at the inside of his bottom lip. He fidgeted nervously, worrying the hem of his shirt between his fingers. "About…about what I did to Remus to gain Malfoy's trust. Seeing him…he hates me, Albus. I just wanted to…was there any other way I could have handled it? Did it have to happen?" he hesitated before pressing on recklessly. "Did you know what Lucius wanted when you asked me to try to get on his good side?"

Dumbledore scrutinized Romulus with a concerned expression before nodding slowly. Romulus's stomach dropped. Dumbledore had chosen him knowing what would happen to Remus. Remus practically idolized Dumbledore; it would kill him to know that the man who he had trusted completely through his teenage years and adult life had basically offered him up like a lamb for slaughter to Lucius Malfoy and his sick perversions. "Yes, I did. It had to happen. You did it for the greater good, Romulus. Remus would understand that."

Romulus suppressed a shudder and tugged his cloak around him more tightly, feeling a chill settle in his bones. "That's what scares me."

* * *

_"Romulus, what is so important?" Remus's voice drifted down the hallway and into the classroom Snape and a handful of others were waiting in. "It's three a.m. The Moon's in less than a day." _

_"It's important, Remus," Romulus said firmly, his voice coming closer. "Let's just go in here and talk for a second, alright?" _

_"Is this about Dad? Did something happen?" Remus's voice was suddenly tense with worry. Romulus tensed; how could Remus still worry about their dad, after all he'd done? "Romulus…" _

_"Come on," Romulus pushed his younger brother into the class room and pulled the door shut behind them. "I don't understand why…" Remus trailed off when he realized there were other people in the room. "What…Romulus, what's going on?" _

_"I'm trying to help you," Romulus said softly, apologetically. He positioned himself in front of the door. "You and Sirius…that has to stop." _

_"Why are they here?" Remus demanded, his voice shaking almost imperceptibly. "Romulus, let me out." He reached for his wand, but found that it wasn't in his belt where he usually kept it. Romulus motioned to Remus's wand where it was sticking out of his own pocket. _

_Remus took a step back and found himself bumping right into the chest of a seventh year Ravenclaw who grabbed the smaller boy and shoved him further into the room. Remus stumbled and caught himself on a desk, disoriented. Moonlight shone through the large windows of the classroom, and it felt like it was burning his skin; he could feel the almost-full Moon tugging at the wolf pacing restlessly in his mind. _

_"Remus," Romulus moved to stand in front of his brother, gripping his shoulders to turn Remus to face him. Remus was pale and obviously exhausted, that dark shadows under his eyes more dramatic in the cold light of the moon. Remus scratched at his own arms uncomfortably; the moonlight on his skin was making him uncomfortably itchy. Romulus felt sick that he had to do this. It was the only way Lucius would trust him; it was some kind of sick initiation into his inner circle. "Listen to me. You have to leave him." _

_"No," Remus replied snappishly, trying to push Romulus off of him. "Let me go." _

_"I told you he'd have to learn the hard way," Lucius spoke up, stepping forward. He shoved a few of the desks out of the way, opening a circle of space on the floor. "You've done what you can, Romulus." _

_Remus still didn't understand what was going on, but he was scared now. He didn't have his wand, he was weak from the approaching moon, and he was surrounded by Lucius Malfoy's future Death Eaters of Britain Club. _

_Lucius moved closer, until he was inches away from Remus. Remus tried to take a step back, frantic to put some distance between them, but found himself pressed against his brother and unable to move any further away. Lucius smiled darkly and raised a hand to touch Remus's cheek, stroking it gently. Remus smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me, Malfoy." _

_Lucius pursed his lips, pleased, and backed away. "I knew you'd be a firecracker, Lupin. I guess we'll have to take care of that before you and I have our…chat." _

_Two of the others in the room, a Slytherin girl and the boy from Ravenclaw, moved towards Remus and grabbed his arms. They tried to pull him away from his brother, but he kept a strong grip on Romulus's shirt. _

_"Remus, let go," Romulus muttered, trying to untangle his brother's fingers from the front of his shirt. "I had to do this." _

_"No," Remus clung to his brother and tried to bury himself in his chest. Romulus could feel his warm breath against his skin and was painfully reminded of the day he'd left home for good. "Rom, please, please don't do this, please…" _

_It broke Romulus's heart to hear his brother's pleas; it was eerily similar to the way Remus had begged their father not to touch him on the day before the Moon, when his body was so sensitive it hurt him to be even touched too roughly. _

_It had always amazed Romulus how exact it was; the second it was midnight on the night before the Moon, Remus would shoot up in bed, woken by the sudden discomfort he felt of the sheets against his skin. Over the next few hours, it got worse and worse until by the time he was about to transform he couldn't even have people looking at him for too long without feeling uncomfortably itchy where their eyes rested on his skin. _

_He thought of Dumbledore's words, "Anything you have to do, Romulus, do it. We need to know what they're up to. Malfoy is dangerous, and we need someone on the inside." _

_"Let go, Remus," Romulus forced himself to shove his brother away. The second Remus's grip on Romulus was dislodged, Remus was yanked away by Lucius's two goons and thrown to the floor. Remus looked up at his brother, eyes shining with confusion and betrayal. He tried to stand up again, but was roughly shoved back to the floor by one of the other's in the room. _

_"Rom…" Remus hadn't called him that in years. _

_Romulus turned away from the classroom and faced the wall, biting the knuckles of his right hand and ignoring the twisting pain in his gut. _

_For the Order. For the Order. _

_His shoulders hunched a little more every time he heard the familiar sound of a fist or a foot hitting flesh. He felt like he owed it to Remus to listen, but he couldn't bring himself to watch; he didn't deserve to pretend this wasn't happening when Remus had to live through it. _

_Remus didn't make a sound as he was mercilessly beaten by the small crowd of Lucius's followers. _

_Finally, Romulus heard Lucius's soft command to stop. Romulus turned back to the room, afraid of what he was going to see. Remus was curled up on the stone floor, nothing more than a shaking, bloody lump. Blood streaked his hair and torn clothing. His wrist was limp and bent the wrong way, and he flinched every time he tried to take a breath that was too deep. Lucius approached him and turned Remus over so he was lying on his back. Remus didn't fight; he couldn't. His eyes were glassy and confused and his movements were sluggish, like he wasn't quite in control of his body. Concussion; Romulus observed detachedly. _

_Lucius pushed Remus's hair out of his eyes and leaned down to seal his lips over Remus's. Remus's body tensed, but he was too weak to fight back beyond trying in vain to push Lucius off of him. Lucius grinned and straddled Remus's hips, leaning back to rest his weight on the boy's thighs. Remus's blood was smeared on Lucius's bottom lip. "The rest of you can go; I don't think he'll be much trouble." His gaze flickered to Snape. "Unless you'd rather stay, Severus." _

_Remus squirmed weakly under him and turned his head to the side, squeezing his eyes closed so he didn't have to look at the monster on top of him; this wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening; his brother would never let this happen. He tried to buck the older boy off, but Lucius only leered down at him and moved his hands to Remus's wrists so he was pinning Remus's arms to the ground. _

_"Rom…Romulus…" Remus pleaded, digging his nails into the stone floor so hard his fingernails bent and cracked. "Please…please help…" _

_Romulus blinked and swallowed past the painful lump in his throat. He felt sick, like something was wrapping around his chest and pulling tightly and twisting his stomach painfully at the same time; he was having a hard time breathing. _

_He fumbled for the doorknob and practically fell out of the room. He slammed the door behind him and collapsed back against it. He shut his eyes tightly, but that didn't stop the tears from squeezing past his clenched eyelids and dripping down his face. _

_He didn't move, no matter how much he wanted to. He stayed hunched up against the door, feeling his chest tighten more painfully with every noise he heard from within; Remus's soft, hoarse voice, pleading lowly for Lucius to stop; Lucius's vicious, humiliating taunts mixed with lustful words of twisted praise; Remus whimpering quietly, trying valiantly to hold back his sobs; Lucius telling him to shut up and take it like a fucking man, that he should be used to it with Dad, and with Black… _

_At Black's name, a small, choked sob escaped Remus's lips. There was the sound of a slap a moment later. _

_"He'll never love you after he finds out about this," Lucius vowed quietly. "He'd never love someone like you anyway; Sirius deserves someone who's not…damaged." _

_A few moments later, the soft, low murmurs suddenly rose into a scream of pure agony. Romulus covered his ears and hunched over, pressing his forehead to his knees. It felt like the scream ripped through him and tore him apart; he was sure the whole castle must have heard it. The scream died down to an incoherent series of words that were sobbed out in painful gasps; Romulus twitched when he realized what Remus was saying. _

_"No…please, stop, please, it HURTS. God…God, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Dad…Please….Rom, help me, please, I promise I'll be good, please, I didn't mean to, Daddy…" _

_Romulus stuffed his fist in his mouth and choked down a sob. He was having a flashback, and a bad one; Remus hadn't called their Dad "Daddy" since he was five, he hadn't begged for Romulus like that since he was seven. _

_He did this. This was his fault. He was sitting here crying while Remus was being raped. He could go in there and stop it, but he didn't. He clenched his fists and thought of the Order, thought of the lives they could save having him on the inside of Malfoy's circle, the information they could get from him; it could help win the oncoming war, or at least turn the tide in their favor. It was a necessary sacrifice for Remus to make; he just didn't know it yet. _

_"Maybe you should go, Lupin." Romulus started at the voice and peered up at the source of the voice. Snape was standing on the opposite side of the hallway from where Romulus was hunched over. His eyes glittered in the pale torch light and his expression was solemn. _

_"What, and leave him here alone so you can have a go at him after Lucius is done?" Romulus snapped angrily. _

_Snape set his jaw irritably. "Lucius may like taking someone against their will; that doesn't mean I do." _

_"You want him, though," Romulus pointed out cruelly. Snape blinked at him, giving nothing away. "You wish you could have him like that, you want him to sleep with you. Newsflash, Snape; he never will. He's not interested, and he never will be, so leave him the hell alone! He doesn't need people like you and Malfoy ogling him and leering at him everywhere he goes." _

_"I won't deny I find your brother attractive, and I would sleep with him if he ever asked," Snape said bluntly, taking a step closer to Romulus. Romulus wrapped his hand around his wand cautiously, unsure of his intentions. "But not like that. And not solely for the reason you believe. Remus is much more than a pretty face, Romulus, and some people recognize him for it." _

_"I'm his brother," Romulus snarled, rising to his feet, his grip on his wand tightening. "Don't act like you know him better than I do." _

_"If you're his brother, then why did you let this happen," Snape said quietly, his voice laced with anger. "Why did you bring him here, knowing what Lucius wanted? To get into Lucius's little club?" _

_Romulus didn't reply, just glared at the younger boy and ground his teeth together, stung by the harsh words slipping from Snape's lips. He wished like hell that he could tell Snape the real reason, make him see that he had to do this, that he had no choice… _

_"Was it worth it?" Snape asked softly. "Was getting into Lucius's stupid little group of imbeciles worth your little brother being violated like this?" _

_A low, broken wail floated up from the crack under the rough wooden door and Romulus heard Lucius roll off of Remus and stand up. There was the rustle of clothes before Lucius's voice spoke softly. "If you tell a teacher what happened here, I will make sure everyone in this school knows you're a werewolf by the next morning. Do you understand?" _

_Silence. _

_There was the sound of a palm hitting someone's face, hard. _

_"I said do you understand?" Lucius hissed. _

_"Yes," Remus's voice was weak and hoarse. He sounded like he was close to tears, if not already crying. _

_"Good boy," Lucius sneered. I heard him move towards the door, his shoes clicking loudly on the stone floor. His steps paused for a moment when he was close to the door and he added over his shoulder, "You did beautifully, Remus. I see why Sirius keeps you around, sweetheart." _

_The door to the room was pulled open and Lucius stepped out, looking slightly ruffled, but otherwise composed. His appearance showed no trace of what he'd just done. He smiled at Romulus and moved closer, shutting the door behind him. Romulus caught a fleeting glance of a huddled figure bathed in moonlight before the door blocked any view of the room. _

_"I don't think Black will be a problem anymore," Lucius said smugly, smoothing the front of his robes. "Good job, Romulus. I think you've proven yourself." _

_"Have I?" Romulus gritted his teeth and tried to smile, pushing aside the thought of his baby brother curled up and bleeding just beyond the door. _

_"Giving up the only family member you have, the brother you've spent your life protecting?" Lucius smirked. "If you can do that, I think you have what we're looking for. Come with me." He started down the hallway. _

_Romulus hovered in the alcove where the door hiding his brother was, torn between following Lucius and leaving Remus there alone. _

_"I'll take care of it," Snape spoke up from his place near the wall. "Go with him." _

_"I swear to God…" Romulus breathed threateningly. "If I find out you even looked at him in a way he didn't like…" _

_"I'm going to speak with him, and then I am going to get Sirius," Snape said calmly. It pained him to say those words. He desperately wanted to be able to comfort Remus on his own, but now was not the time for jealousy to get in the way. Remus would want someone he trusted implicitly, if he wanted someone at all, and as much as Snape hated to admit it, that person was Sirius Black. "Now go." _

_"Romulus?" Lucius called. He turned and looked down the hallway, eyes squinting to try to make out Romulus in the faint glow of the flickering torches. "Come on." _

_Romulus hesitated for a few moments before he nodded and rushed down the hall to catch up with Lucius. The damage was done; he had to make Remus's sacrifice worth something._

* * *

Lucius grinned up at Remus and tilted his head, examining the werewolf carefully. "As much as I'd like to, I'm not doing anything to you right now. I just wanted to have a polite conversation."

"That's the last thing you'd want from me," Remus muttered, pushing himself to his feet and stepping away from Lucius. He waited for Lucius to stand before continuing. "Stay away from me, and stay away from my family."

"Oh, yes, Harry's birthday is in two days, isn't it?" Lucius observed, watching Remus closely for a reaction. "Grow up so fast, don't they? Pity it's the day after the full moon."

"Good bye, Malfoy," Remus snapped, grabbing Sirius's hand and pulling him forward. He slid by Malfoy with Sirius trailing behind him. Sirius took care to accidently elbow Malfoy hard in the side. Remus glanced up from the dirty cobblestones and found himself face to face with Snape.

Snape's expression inexplicably softened for a fraction of a second when his dark eyes met Remus's. "Good evening, Lupin."

Remus looked away and kept walking, tightening his grip on Sirius's hand and determinedly not looking back.

Sirius allowed Remus to drag him along, concerned with the way Remus was shaking and how pale he'd become.

He glanced up into the darkening sky and saw that it was one of those days when the moon had appeared in the sky before the sun had completely given up its reign. Tomorrow was the full; the orb was almost completely round.

* * *

**So there it is. I hope you all liked it. Leave a review if you can, I really appreciate them! **

**Next chapter: the Moon, Sirius and Romulus argue (though I don't think it will be their last, or most dramatic, one yet), and FINALLY what Romulus has going on with Malfoy. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**First of all, I'm sorry for how long this took. My laptop screen cracked right down the middle and I've had to use my dad's whenever I can. I didn't realize I could copy and paste to submit until today, because this chapter had to be redone on Google docs after my laptop died. I couldn't upload it like I normally do because my dad's laptop doesn't have Microsoft Word. But I figured it out!**

**Second, thank you to all the people who reviewed, favorited, and followed! You're the best! I'm sorry I couldn't get back to you personally, but I wanted to get this up as soon as I could.**

**So I hope you enjoy it! Leave me a review if you have a second:)**

**WARNINGS: language (maybe), aftermath of and implied rape, child abuse (non graphic), slash**

* * *

Sirius almost fell out of bed when he suddenly heard a gruff voice in his ear late that night. He sat up quickly, groping for his wand on the bedside table in the dark, but paused when he saw it was just a Patronus.

The ferret spoke to him in Moody's voice. "Listen, Black, I know it's the Full tonight, but we need you in here in the morning. We just got a tip on a major Death Eater movement outside of London and we need to look into it as soon as possible. Get yer butt in here by seven, or I'm coming down to that cottage myself. Remus gave me the Floo password." The Patronus paused for a moment before adding, "Tell him I said hi."

The Patronus vanished in silver wisps of smoke that brushed against the ceiling before they faded into the inky darkness of the room.

Sirius felt Remus shift next to him. "Traitor. You gave Moody the password? That's cold, Remus."

"I figured he would want it in case you decided not to go in one day," Remus yawned and wiggled uncomfortably, the sheets rubbing against his skin making him feel itchy. "Like you're thinking about doing right now." he managed to raise an eyebrow at Sirius.

Sirius smiled a little and tilted his head to the side in reluctant agreement. Remus was flopping around, obviously beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable. Sirius glanced at the clock; the big, dully glowing numbers read 2 a.m. The discomfort tended to really set in in about an hour; right now Remus's skin was just slightly more irritated at the feel of anything against it. By tonight it would be practically unbearable if a gust of wind brushed his skin on their way to the cellar.

"Moody's always liked you, he wouldn't mind," Sirius murmured, scooching closer to Remus. He knew he was going to end up going in; Death Eaters meant that Harry wasn't safe, it meant that the whispers about Voldemort could be coming true, and Sirius would never let any type of situation like that escalate. He had a duty to the wizards and Muggles (if, Lord forbid, Voldemort was back) to protect them, and though his own family would always come first (even if he had vowed that everyone's safety was just as important), he still would do his absolute best to keep them safe. Remus understood that, empathized with that, and Sirius wondered if circumstances had been different if Remus would have gone into the Auror profession as well.

A small grin curved Remus's lips upward and he flopped his arm over his eyes. Sirius stared at the unmistakable scars from rope and a belt that crisscrossed the pale skin and wound around his wrists. His eyes drifted to Remus's quiet smile and then to the part of his nose where it was crooked, obviously having been broken a few times. Remus's nose crinkled when he laughed and it gave him this endearing lopsided and innocent appearence that made Sirius simultaneously want to laugh and cry because it was beautiful (Remus was beautiful), but it was also a reminder of Remus's father and everything he'd done.

"He needs you in there, I'll be fine," Remus moved his arm from his eyes to wave it blindly in the air, like it could brush away the worries floating around Sirius's head. When Sirius didn't say anything back, he cracked one eye open and watched him curiously. "What?"

Sirius smiled and rolled over so he was leaning over Remus, careful not to put any pressure on the smaller man's body. Remus quirked his mouth into that disapproving frown he did when he didn't want Sirius to know he was surprised. Sirius laughed softly and kissed the place where Remus's nose was crooked. "I was just thinking."

"Don't pass out from the shock," Remus said, but Sirius couldn't take it personally with Remus's hands moving to weave through his hair and lightly massage his scalp.

"Ha ha," Sirius shifted so he was half on top of Remus and moved his arm to sling it across Remus's waist. "I was thinking...what would you have done, if you weren't a werewolf?"

"What do you mean?" Remus asked, brow furrowing.

"For work," Sirius clarified. "Would you have been an Auror?"

"I doubt it," Remus shook his head and pursed his lips tightly. "I don't know. My whole life would have been different if I wasn't a werewolf; my mom would be alive, my dad never would have abused us, my brother probably wouldn't have left...who knows? I don't worry about it."

"I think you'd be a great teacher," Sirius admitted, recalling the times he watched Remus help Harry with his summer work, or how he used to tutor the other students when they were at Hogwarts. "You'd be good with the kids, you're smart..."

Remus smiled and nestled closer to Sirius. Everything had always hurt the day before the moon, and everything except for Sirius's touch still did. Since Sirius had agreed to the whole 'mates for life' thing, his touch had become more and more bearable, and now Remus reveled in it the day before the moon; it was his only respite from the abrasive feeling of everything against his skin and the wolf tugging at his mind as the sun sank lower and lower in the sky.

The only thing that will not hurt or cause discomfort to a werewolf the day before the moon if they come in contact with it, is the touch of their mate.

Remus remembered he'd read that somewhere a long time ago and thought it unimportant; he never believed he would actually have friends, let alone a mate.

"I'd like that," Remus agreed softly, his breath warm against Sirius's shoulder. "You know that. If I could do anything...it would be to help those kids learn. To just help them be good people. By the time they get to an Auror, it's usually too late."

Sirius nodded in agreement, thinking of the young people who had gotten lost in their teenage years and ended up becoming thieves and murderers and cheaters. By the time they landed in front of an Auror's desk, they were, in most cases, too far gone for anyone to help them.

Remus felt Sirius's fingers curl tighter around his hip under the elastic band of his boxers. He looked up at Sirius from where his head was pillowed on his chest. Sirius's hair fell around him in long, dark locks that tickled Remus's neck and face. "It's not your fault."

Sirius wasn't sure if Remus was talking about the kids or about the limitations his lycanthropy put on him, or even if they were talking about Romulus and Malfoy and John Lupin. He let out a long breath and pressed his face to Remus's shoulder. "Not yours, either."

Remus smiled and yawned. "You should sleep before you have to go."

"Are you comfortable?" Sirius mumbled, his eyes sliding shut.

"I'm fine, sweetheart," Remus promised softly, rubbing small circles on Sirius's palm and then the inside of his wrists as Sirius shifted to hold him closer. "Get some sleep."

He kissed Sirius's knuckles and rubbed Sirius's palms with his thumbs, relishing in the warmth and safety he felt, and in the complete trust Sirius held in him. It made him feel unspeakably grateful and content that Sirius felt safe around him despite what he was.

Remus relaxed against Sirius's warm body and was finally able to drift to sleep, holding the already slumbering dark haired man to him tightly.

* * *

When Romulus made his way down the stairs the next morning, Sirius was leaning back on two legs of his chair and had his feet propped up on the kitchen table. He was reading a folder flopped open on his thighs. Romulus didn't see Harry or Remus around, but he heard the shower running upstairs. He went over to the cabinet over the sink to dig out the oatmeal and started to fill up the kettle.

"Morning," he greeted Sirius, trying to sound genuine. Although he didn't hate Black with the fervor he had in school and during the war, he still felt a lingering distrust for the man. Romulus had always been protective of his little brother when it came to people having a romantic interest in him. For all Remus had been through, for all he'd been forced to do, he was still so innocent. Romulus looked at him today and still saw the six year old boy who had clung to his leg when they went anywhere, painfully shy and afraid of being lost in a crowd. He saw the boy who had crawled into bed next to Romulus one night with blood running down the inside of his legs and woke him up to ask what their dad had done to him because he didn't understand, he just knew it hurt and that he hadn't liked it.

He just didn't want Remus to ever be hurt like that again.

Sirius grunted and didn't look up from the papers spread out on his lap. He took a sip from the mug on the table and flipped a page over, determinedly ignoring Romulus's presence.

"Where're Harry and Remus?" Romulus asked, setting the kettle on the stove. He glanced outside at the rising sun and felt the familiar ache of dread settle low in his chest.

"Harry's in the shower," Sirius replied shortly. "Remus is asleep, for now. I called in sick for him."

"He doesn't get the day before the moon off?" Romulus raised an eyebrow. Sirius felt a stab of anger go through his gut at the gesture; Remus had learned that from his brother. Sirius equally hated and understood that Remus loved his brother despite what he'd done. Romulus had practically raised him, protected him from his sadistic father for years the best he could, he and Remus had been close since the moment Remus was born. Sirius understood not being able to just throw that all away. He still loved Regulus, even after finding out he was a Death Eater. He still missed him. If there was an inkling in what Romulus felt for his younger brother of what Sirius had felt for his, maybe Romulus had a chance of mending their relationship.

"He usually works in the morning and comes home midday," Sirius replied calmly, running his finger down a column on one of the pages spread out on his lap. "He can handle it, and I'm not going to stop him from doing what he wants, but running into Malfoy yesterday shook him up. He needs to rest for now."

"You're leaving?" Romulus noted Sirius's clothing, a set of Auror robes. He'd heard Black was an Auror, be he'd always had a hard time reconciling the rebellious Sirius Black with a straightlaced Auror.

"I got called in," Sirius replied, sighing disgruntledly. He shifted his knees, taking care not to send the papers flying. "Don't you have something else to do today? Meet your lawyer, or something?"

"I met him yesterday," Romulus lied easily. "I...I'll be around here for the day. Can I...what should I do for Remus? I haven't...not since I was a teenager..."

"It's still pretty much the same," the lines around Sirius's mouth softened and he glanced up at Romulus, making eye contact for the first time that morning. Romulus could tell Sirius felt bad about leaving Remus, but knew Sirius had a demanding job. "Don't touch him. He might come downstairs to eat. If he doesn't, I guess you can bring him some soup. Just be careful; he doesn't like to be touched."

"I remember," Romulus said sharply, slightly offended Sirius thought he could forget.

"Excuse me for not being sure," Sirius's gaze darkened and he clenched one of his papers in his hands tightly, crumpling it. "Considering the last time you were around the day before the Moon you had your friends beat the crap out of him."

"Sirius," Romulus sighed, swallowing the guilt Sirius's words stirred in him. "I don't want to talk about that. You don't understand."

"I don't understand?" Sirius demanded, rising to his feet angrily. "I sure as hell don't understand. You let Malfoy do that to him because he was gay? Because he was dating me?"

"No, it wasn't that," Romulus insisted, taking a step closer to Sirius. He remembered having the same feeling when he had so desperately wanted to tell Snape the true reason why he'd done it. He wanted to make Sirius understand that it wasn't anything to do with Remus; Remus had done nothing besides unintentionally capture the attention of Lucius Malfoy.

"So what was it?" Sirius asked, crossing his arms over his chest. "What could possibly be your excuse?"

Romulus wasn't sure what to say. He could only hear Dumbledore's words ringing in his ears; he repeated them softly. "It was for the greater good."

Romulus suddenly found himself pinned to the counter. Sirius glared at him and gripped the front of his shirt tightly, keeping Romulus immobile and unable to avoid Sirius's eyes boring into his, the gray irises swirling with anger. "The people you love should be the greatest good you ever have."

"Says the man who ditched his family the same way I did when he was sixteen," Romulus sneered, gripping Sirius's wrists to try to pry his hands off of him. "You act like you're so moral and in the right about everything, but you're no better than I am. Did you love your brother?"

"Of course I do," Sirius snapped, going a shade paler. Romulus noted how Sirius had kept it in present tense.

"And you left him with your family anyway," Romulus growled. "You have no right to judge me for leaving. I love Remus just as much as you love Regulus."

Sirius let go of Romulus's shirt and took a step back, his eyes never leaving Romulus's. He was silent for a few moments before he said quietly, "He loves you, too. That doesn't mean he can trust you again."

Sirius gathered up his paper and slid them into a folder, turning his back to Romulus and effectively showing he was ending the conversation.

Romulus wasn't finished, though. There was something he'd always wondered. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer or not, but he steeled himself and asked anyway. "How long...did you...what happened? When you found him, I mean."

Sirius shoulders tensed and he paused in his organizing of the papers. He sighed and turned slowly to eye Romulus wearily. "I brought him to the Hospital wing. He didn't want to go, but it's always best if he's as healthy as possible when he transforms."

"How long was he...when did you...?" Romulus shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. Damn it, this was hard. He was a grown man, he held a powerful position in the Ministry of Magic, he was a fully trained wizard, for God's sake. Why was it that when it came to his little brother he suddenly felt like a bumbling sixteen year old again?

"Snape found us as soon as he could," Sirius replied softly, tucking the last of his papers into the folder. "James, Peter, and I were out looking for him. We thought he'd just fallen asleep in the Common Room with his homework. He always did that, just kept working until he couldn't even keep his eyes open to get upstairs..."

* * *

_"He's with Romulus, Sirius, he's probably fine" james had to jog to keep up with Sirius's long, determined strides as he led the way down the lowly lit stone hallways. He'd seen Sirius worried before, but after he found the note Remus had left about meeting his brother, Sirius had gone straight from worried to frantic._

_"Weren't you there for their argument when Romulus found out?" Sirius snapped, speeding up and gripping his wand tightly. "Romulus was pissed. I told Remus not to go off alone with him..." he rubbed his forehead and tried to calm himself down. "Stubborn, loyal idiot..."_

_"We'll find him," Peter said firmly. He was almost running to keep up with the taller boys' long strides. "He's not helpless."_

_"The Moon's tonight," Sirius reminded them, gritting his teeth. His grip on his wand tightened. "And he's worrying himself grey about his marks and his damn family...he's exhausted..."_

_"BLACK!" Sirius whirled around at his name and found himself looking at Severus Snape as he strode down the hallway towards them. "Black, follow me."_

_"What are you doing up, Snape?" James sneered, coming to halt next to Sirius. "We're busy."_

_"It's Rem-Lupin," Snape corrected himself, motioning frantically for them to follow. "He's down by the History of Magic classroom. He's hurt."_  
_Sirius's skin went three shades paler in the cold light of the torches on the wall. He strode up to Snape and grabbed the front of his robes roughly. "Take me there. Right. Now."_

_Snape shoved Sirius away and glared harshly at him. "I was planning on it. Let go of me."_

_He turned on his heel and started down the hallway, moving quickly towards the wing of the castle he'd come from. Sirius kept pace with him and interrogated him as they rushed down the halls. "How badly is he hurt? Who was it? I swear to God, Snape, if I find out..."_

_"It wasn't me," Snape snapped, speeding up. He was still in his school robes and they billowed out behind him as they walked. "It wasn't...talk to Remus's brother." he spat out the word 'brother' like it left a bad taste in his mouth._

_"Damn it," Sirius cursed under his breath._

_Snape indicated a door off the hallway next to Professor Binn's classroom. "There. But, Black..." he grabbed Sirius's arm before Sirius could burst through the door. "He...he's really out of it. He was...they, uh...they..."_

_"I can handle it," Sirius snapped, pulling away from Snape and pushing the door open._

_He stopped short and James and Peter ran right into his back. Sirius covered his mouth with his hand. "Oh my God..."_

_Remus flinched and curled into a tighter ball on the floor, pulling his tattered cloak around him to cover himself the best he could. He let out a small, desperate whimper that sounded like his brother's name._

_That snapped Sirius out of his daze and he was immediately at Remus's side, kneeling next to him, but not touching him. He leaned over Remus, his hair dangling centimeters from the werewolf's bruised skin. "Remus. Remus, look at me. C'mon, babe, it's me, it's Sirius. You're okay, you're safe..."_

_Remus's eyes flickered open and he coughed. Blood speckled the floor. He swallowed and tried to speak, his voice hoarse and breaking. "I...Sirius, what are you..?"_

_"Shhh, don't talk," Sirius hushed him softly. He was aching to reach out and touch Remus to offer some sort of comfort (and physical reassurance for himself that Remus was there, that Remus was alive) but knew it would hurt him more than help him. What parts of Remus's skin that were visible were beginning to develop painful looking bruises. Bruises shaped like fingers painted Remus's throat and chin, and his bottom lip was split open and bleeding sluggishly. His wrist was bent at an odd angle and his choppy, uneven breaths indicated the possibility of broken ribs._

_"We need to get you to the hospital wing," Sirius muttered, his hands hovering above Remus's side and arm. "Can you...can you walk?"_

_"Yes," Remus gasped quietly. He pushed himself up onto his elbows and caught sight of James and Peter. His expression immediately went from pain-riddled to humiliated and he ducked his head so he was looking at the ground, bracing himself with his forearms against the stone floor. "Sir...Sirius..." he struggled to say Sirius's names, but managed to force it past his lips. "Get them out of here."_

_"Remus, they're not going to..."_

_"Please," Remus hissed softly, his shoulders hunching. "I can't...I don't want them to see..."_

_Sirius swallowed hard and nodded. "Okay. Okay...Peter, James, go down to the hospital wing and get Madame Pomphrey. Remus and I will be there in a few minutes."_

_"Sirius-" James started to protest, but Peter grabbed his arm and tugged his sleeve._

_"James, let's go," he said quietly._

_James hesitated, but followed Peter out of the room, shooting back one last concerned glance at his friends._

_"Alright," Sirius muttered. "You okay?"_

_Stupid question. Of course Remus wasn't okay. He was hurt, and something was obviously wrong._

_"I don't need the hospital wing," Remus said firmly, setting his jaw. He pushed himself back up and moved so he was perched gingerly on his right hip. He winced. "I'll be fine."_

_He wouldn't look at Sirius. Sirius tilted his head, studying Remus closely, his concern for Remus growing. "Remus, what did he do to you?"_

_"I got a little beat up, nothing new," Remus muttered, his eyes flickering around the room nervously. His fingers worried the folds of the cloak around him. He ducked his head so he didn't have to look at Sirius, choking back tears. He felt them stinging at his eyes. He couldn't cry. He couldn't cry, because then Sirius would know... "Can we please just go back to the dorms?"_

_"Do you need help standing?" Sirius pursed his lips. Something was wrong, really wrong, but he'd let it drop until he could convince Remus to go to Madame Pomphrey. He knew it would be uncomfortable if he had to touch Remus to help him up, but it was better than leaving him on the unforgiving floor._

_"No!" Remus pushed himself away from Sirius skittishly. "I can do it, please, just don't touch me..."_

_Sirius blinked, surprised at Remus's strong reaction. "Okay. Okay, I won't touch you if you don't want me to."_

_Remus's shoulders heaved and he rubbed his eyes against his cloak. "Thank...thank you..."_

_He took a few moments to try to steady his breathing before he rose to his feet, cringing at the horribly familiar pain that spiked up his spine. He stumbled and caught himself on a desk. He could see Sirius watching him with concern out of the corner of his eye, but couldn't look at him._

_"Oh, God," he heard Sirius say softly._

_Sirius felt his stomach grow cold when he saw the blood running down the inside of Remus's legs._

_He moved to closer to Remus and tried to make the younger boy meet his eyes without touching him. "He touched you?"_

_"No," Remus shook his head, his blood streaked, honey hair hiding his face. "No, Sirius, I swear, he didn't..."_

_More than anything, Sirius wanted to hold him, reassure him, let him know it would be okay; Sirius wasn't good with words, it was so much easier for him to show his feelings through touch and action. But Remus was hurt, overwhelmed, and probably didn't want anyone to touch him ever again, and Sirius couldn't blame him._

_"Remus, it's okay," Sirius said, keeping his voice low and soothing as he could. "It's alright. I believe you, babe. Remus, you're...you're really hurt. You're bleeding. There could be internal damage. Please...please let Madame Pomphrey check you over."_

_"I can't," Sirius could see the muscles of Remus's back bunch up painfully under his bruised and torn skin. "I...just leave me alone, Sirius. I don't need...I don't need anyone's pity."_

_"It's not pity," Sirius insisted softly. His hand was inches away from where Remus's was clenched on the edge of the desk, and it would be so easy to close the gap and twine their fingers together. "It's concern. You don't have to tell her who it was, you don't have to tell me who it was, if you don't want to. But please, please let her heal you. I'm begging you, Remus."_

_Remus's throat worked hard as he tried to keep his tears back. "I don't need-"_

_He suddenly felt his knees give out and his vision blurred before going completely black._

_Sirius caught Remus before he fell and hefted the smaller boy into his arms. Remus was light; he hadn't been eating as much as he should, his appetite quenched by thoughts of his marks and his family breaking apart._

_Remus whimpered and curled into Sirius's chest, half conscious. Tears ran unchecked down his cheeks and soaked into Sirius's shirt._

_"Shhh, baby, it's alright," Sirius held Remus closer and started as quickly as he could towards the Hospital wing. Remus would be pissed Sirius hadn't listened, but James and Peter were already getting Madame Pomphrey and the Moon was coming soon; Remus needed to be as healed as possible before he transformed. "You're safe now, I promise, Remus, you're safe...I won't let him touch you again..."_

* * *

"Was he mad you brought him there?" Romulus asked, feeling sick to his stomach.

Sirius shrugged and nodded. "At first he was upset. He didn't want people to know that it had happened." He was silent for a few moments before he sighed softly. "It was a bad Moon."

"I didn't..." Romulus began, but trailed off, not sure of what to say.

"I have to get to work," Sirius cleared his throat and pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Don't...just leave him alone unless he calls for you, alright? He's worked really hard to help himself heal from what your dad did, and what...what you did. He's come to terms with it. But you being here...it's not like the memories of it can just go away."

Sirius clutched the strap of his bag as his brain called up memories of the time after Remus had left the hospital wing. He'd been despondent and angry and lashed out. He'd pushed and pushed and pushed Sirius away until Sirius could barely even talk to him without Remus blowing up at him. He'd stopped eating, and he'd thrown himself into schoolwork. He'd barely slept anymore. He'd been on self destruct until Madame Pomphrey had finally convinced him to talk to someone. She'd set him up with a wizard in Hogsmede who had a practice in the small town.

Sirius still remembered the day Remus had sat down next to him at dinner after he'd been talking to this guy twice a week for six months and asked him quietly if Sirius would go with him.

Romulus could tell Sirius had gotten distracted and lost in thought by the faraway look in his eyes and cleared his throat to get the man's attention. "I'll be careful, okay? He'll be fine."

"He'd better be," Sirius growled, eyes flashing dangerously. He pinched some Floo powder between his thumb and forefinger and tossed it into the fireplace. The flames roared and he shot Romulus one more warning glance before stepping into the fire.

* * *

Romulus stood outside Remus's door with a bowl of soup in his hands and hesitated, unsure of whether or not he could go through with knocking. This might be the last chance he had to really talk to Remus before the Moo, and he had some things he needed to take care of.

After a few moments of hovering outside the door, he raised his fist to knock.

"Come in, Romulus," Remus's voice called before Romulus's fist could make contact with the peeling wood of the door. Romulus jumped a little, sloshing the soup in the bowl, and cursed under his breath. He'd forgotten how good Remus's hearing got as the Moon got closer.

He pushed open the door and stepped into the dark room, pulling the door closed behind him. The heavy curtains were drawn over the window, and Romulus peered through the darkness to make out where Remus was in the room. The bed was on the wall next to the door, and Romulus could see Remus propped up and sitting cross legged. Harry was curled up on the bed next to him, leaving a few feet of space between them. Harry sat up when Romulus came in and eyed him warily.

Romulus smiled at him in what he hoped was a kind way. He felt bad when he looked at the boy; Remus adored this kid, had raised him like his own. Romulus felt like he should have been a part of his life, somehow. The night the Dark Lord had been vanquished Remus had been left half dead, starving, and homeless, with two of his best friends dead, his lover under investigation, and an orphaned baby boy in his care. He had undoubtedly needed Romulus's support. Romulus had had other things on his mind at that point.

"I brought you some soup," Romulus held out the bowl in offering and moved towards the bed. He stood awkwardly next to it, not sure if Remus would want him to perch himself on the bed or if it would make him uncomfortable.

"Thank you," Remus smiled weakly. His fingers were picking at the sheets in his lap. "I'm not really hungry. Harry..?"

Remus took the bowl and offered it to the boy. Harry shrugged and shook his head. "I'm good. I was going to make a sandwich."

"Sirius said you should eat something," Romulus raised his eyebrows.

Remus rolled his eyes and placed the bowl on the bedside table. "Sirius worries too much."

Romulus pursed his lips and nodded shortly in agreement.

Harry broke the long silence by standing up and stretching, cracking his back. "I'm going to make a sandwich. Does any one else need anything?"

"No," Romulus shook his head.

"No thanks, sweetheart," Remus smiled tiredly.

Romulus shut the door behind Harry and moved to the opposite side of the bed. He perched on the edge and when Remus didn't say anything, relaxed a little bit. The room was small, but clean. Romulus could see pictures in frames hung on the walls; they were done in crayon and pencil and Romulus assumed they must have been Harry's drawings from over the years. Besides the bed and small bedside tables, a low chest of drawers was the only other furniture in the bedroom. There were a few knicknacks on top of it; a small wooden box Romulus recognized as something Remus had had since they were little, a black figure of a dog carved out of some dark stone, a picture frame with a photo of Sirius, Remus, Peter, baby Harry, and who Romulus recognized as James and Lily. He eyed the box for a few moments; if Remus had kept the ring, it would be in there.

"Romulus, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but I think it would be best if you found a place as soon as possible," Remus said quietly, looking away from his brother. "Until then, I don't mind you staying here, but I would prefer it if you didn't...if you kept your distance from me."

"I'm your brother," Romulus said, watching Remus's eyebrows draw together as he spoke.

"You haven't contacted me in years," Remus's eyes snapped up to meet Romulus's. Romulus was unprepared for it; Remus had alway kept his head down when he expressed any kind of disagreement, if he said anything at all. "You haven't been there for me since we were kids. You can't just show up expect our relationship to magically fix itself. We're practically strangers, Romulus, we barely know each other anymore."

Romulus sighed and put his head in his hands. "I know, Remus. I know we can't just go back to how we were. I just...can we try to get to know each other again?"

He could tell Remus was confused by the question. Remus opened his mouth to speak, but Romulus went on before he could say anything. "I mean, we can maybe just...talk, catch up...maybe we can be friends someday. We can see where it goes."

Remus smiled a little bit, looking slightly unsure. Romulus let himself believe it could really happen like that for a few moments, and it felt indescribably good to imagine his relationship with Remus rebuilt to at least a portion of what it was.

Remus shrugged and replied hesitantly. "I think...Give me some time, Romulus. The day before the Moon isn't the time for me to be making a decision like that."

Romulus pursed his lips and nodded, rising to his feet. "Yeah, I have to agree with that. If I remember right, it was the day before the Moon when you decided to take Divination."

A small smile stole across Remus's face and Romulus felt the block of ice in his stomach melt a little bit.

"Exactly," Remus nodded. He tossed the sheets aside and moved to stand up. "I've got to get some things done before the moon rises."

"You need to stay in bed," Romulus said firmly, moving to push Remus back into bed. Remus flinched away from his hand before Romulus could touch him. "Oh, God, Remus, I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Remus waved him off, his hand on his chest where Romulus's hand had almost touched him. "I need to get up and do something."

"You're going to hurt yourself," Romulus warned gently, unsure of whether or not he was overstepping.

"I think I know what I can handle," Remus said back, sharply but not meanly. He stood up and hesitated before continuing. "I'm going to shower and then do laundry. If you have anything, throw it down to the bottom of the stairs and I'll wash it."

"Thanks," Romulus smiled. Remus nodded, started towards the hallway, paused, looked like he was going to say something, shook his head, and left the room, leaving the door open behind him.

Romulus heard the bathroom door shut down the hall and the water start. He stood up and rushed to grab the carved box from the top of the drawers. He opened it and cursed when he found it was full of letters written in Black's cramped handwriting. He put it back where he'd found it and looked around the room, rubbing his forehead frustratedly.

He went through the drawers first, finding nothing there but clothes and some of Remus's books. He tossed the books aside and sighed. If Remus had gotten rid of their mother's wedding ring, Romulus didn't know what he was going to do to protect him. He fingered the cover of one of the worn books and was suddenly struck by a memory; he and Remus had used to hollow out the pages of old books if they needed to hide something from their father. Remus had used to hide the small gifts he got for Romulus for Christmas in an old encyclopedia in their bedroom, and Romulus had done the same in a battered guide book of England.

It was a long shot; he didn't know if Remus would still do that, but he had nothing to lose by thumbing through the books. He felt a thrill of success when he found the pages of one hollowed out so a small plastic bag could fit in the niche. He pulled it out and let out a small sound of relief when he saw the glint of the band through the foggy plastic.

He clutched it in his hand and quickly replaced the books in the drawer where he'd found them.

* * *

"Black is away for now," Romulus kneeled in front of the fire and spoke quietly so Remus wouldn't hear him where he was trying to sleep upstairs. "He won't be back until tonight."

"Where's the werewolf?" Lucius sneered, his lip curling as he glanced around suspiciously.

"He's asleep," Romulus replied, managing to keep his expression neutral at Lucius's tone when he said werewolf. "He's been doing chores for four hours, his body is worn out."

"Perfect," Lucius smiled. "And the moon is in an hour?"

Romulus glanced at the clock above the living room couch. "About an hour, yes. Black should be occupied through the night if Death Eaters keep flocking towards your place. They'll want everyone they can spare watching."

"And you'll do your part by the time Remus is human again?" Lucius asked.

"Consider it done," Romulus nodded. "You should be able to get through the wards, I've been working on weakening them, and the blood spell breaks the second the bodies are off the property."

"Perfect," Lucius grinned coldly.

Romulus shifted uncomfortably on the rough wooden floor. "You swear you'll leave Remus alone?"

"I won't touch him," Lucius rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine. Getting cold feet, Lupin?"

"No," Romulus shook his head instantly. "I just...I'm doing this for him. I don't want him to get hurt."

"This is the first step to bringing the Dark Lord back," Lucius assured him softly. "And the Dark Lord is the only one who can take down the Ministry and Albus Dumbledore. Isn't that what you want?"

"Yes," Romulus muttered, biting his lip. "More than anything."

"Your brother will be much better off with the Dark Lord ruling than Dumbledore and his Ministry puppet," Lucius sneered when he referenced Fudge. "You've worked so hard for this, collecting information from Dumbledore, convincing Remus to let you through the wards, waiting for this day for year and years with the rest of us..."

"I know," Romulus nodded, his voice firm and steady. The Dark Lord would treat Remus better than Dumbledore and the Ministry did. As it stood, Remus couldn't even get a job in the wizarding world with all the laws. Dumbledore used Remus like he was dispensable, offering him up to the werewolves, to the Death Eaters, to the Ministry, and Romulus was sick of Remus living in blind devotion to the old man. "You're right, Lucius. I'm just nervous about this, I guess."

"It's something that will go down in history," Lucius smiled self indulgently, eyes glinting with anticipation. "The day the Dark Lord rose again."

Romulus's eyes flickered to the ceiling above him where Remus was sound asleep in his and Sirius's bedroom. He echoed the statement softly, "The day the Dark Lord rose again."

* * *

**So there it is! I hope you guys liked it. Again, sorry it took so long. I should have my own laptop back by the end of the week. It picks up in the next chapter with the Moon and Romulus's intentions being exposed.**

**Please review! I love getting them, they literally brighten up my day like nothing else. So if you've got a second, feel free to drop me a review, question, comment, whatever. Thanks:)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

**First of all, thank to the people who reviewed! You have no idea how awesome it is to hear that you're interested, I appreciate it:) And thank you to all the people who followed and favorited this.**

**Second, this is getting close to the end. A couple more chapters (I haven't decided a number yet. We'll see) So thanks to all the people who have stuck with this so far.**

**Hope you like this chapter.**

**WARNINGS: violence (minor), slash, vague discussion of abuse/sexual assault**

* * *

"What do you want, Lupin?" Snape snapped at the man standing on his hearth rug and slammed the cover of the book on his desk shut with irritation. He turned on his heel to search for another book on the dusty shelf, refusing to look at Romulus. The mere sight of the man made anger thrum through Snape's veins, even after all these years. "I don't have time for your-"

"Remus is in danger," Romulus cut him off abruptly, watching Snape's body language closely for a reaction.

Snape's hand stuttered as he ran his fingers along the spines of the books. Romulus saw him force himself to play it off and tug another book out and place it on his desk. "I don't see why that's my problem."

"I think we both know why that's your problem," Romulus said softly, stepping closer to the opposite side of Snape's desk. "Tell me you don't still have feelings for him."

"I don't," Snape replied coldly, convincingly. His long, pale fingers clutched the heavy tome resting on his desk and he met Romulus's eyes steadily. His dark hair fell in greasy curtains around his face and his black eyes flashed with anger. His jaw was set, but Romulus saw the beginnings of a pained frown on his thin lips before he regained control of his reaction. "Even if I did, it wouldn't matter."

"I need you to do something for me before you bring him to Malfoy tonight," Romulus dropped the plastic bag with his mother's tarnished wedding ring onto Snape's desk. "Just slip this in his pocket. Please."

"You've charmed it?" Snape raised an eyebrow and plucked the bag off the desk to study the contents with interest.

"It's strong enough to protect him," Romulus nodded, relaxing a little bit. No matter how much Snape denied it, he obviously still harbored feelings for Remus. Romulus managed to push aside his disgust with Snape infatuation with his little brother to complete the task at hand; Remus's safety was more important than Snape's long term crush. "I don't know what Lucius will try."

Snape considered Romulus for a moment with his cold, dark eyes. Romulus felt Snape trying to pick at his mind, searching for an ulterior motive. Romulus pushed the genuine feelings of concern for Remus's safety to the front of his mind.

Snape let out a small huff through his nose. He pocketed the ring and nodded shortly. "I suppose it couldn't hurt. Black will be pissed enough when he gets a hold of you with the werewolf being killed." Snape smirked slightly at Romulus, amusement flickering across his pursed lips. "I certainly wouldn't want him to wreck your face like he did last time."

Romulus smiled back, slightly. "I think you'd like nothing more than that."

* * *

_"Can I borrow your Ancient Runes notes?" Romulus reached over and took Michael's sheafs of parchment from his hands without waiting for an answer. Michael shrugged and tugged his potions book closer to him on the table of the Great Hall. Romulus had been touchy this week, and MIchael couldn't blame him. Remus was in the hospital wing, unconscious and showing no sign of waking up anytime soon. Rumors spread like wildfire that he'd been attacked, mauled by some kind of animal down by the Forbidden Forest. _

_"Romulus!"_

_Romulus look up from Michael's notes, recognizing the voice immediately and mouthing a curse at the stone floor. He sat up straight and forced a smile at a fuming Sirius Black. "Sirius, what's up?"_

_"Don't give me that crap," Black snarled, grabbing the front of Romulus's robes and slamming the bigger man into the table. Romulus glanced around the room quickly. It was between meal times; the halls was full of students milling around, but devoid of any teachers at the moment. Black shook the front of his robes to drag Romulus's attention back to him. "He's still unconscious. He spent all night crying and begging for me to help him in his sleep, and I couldn't wake him up. Do you even fucking care?"_

_"It's not my choice to not visit him," Romulus snapped, trying to shove Sirius away from him. "You're the one who told Pomphrey not to let me in."_

_"I don't want you anywhere near him!" Sirius growled, glaring at Romulus with anger and exhaustion swirling in his dark gray eyes. Romulus was surprised by the fierce amount of protectiveness Sirius displayed over Remus. He had doubted Black would be able to deal with the emotional repercussions Remus would suffer; he'd been sure the idea of dealing with such a damaged boyfriend would make Black run for the hills. On the contrary, it only seemed to make Black's devotion to Remus stronger in his intentions to help Remus try to recover._

_"You wouldn't understand," Romulus said softly, his eyes flickering away from Sirius's, unable to hold the smaller man's intense gaze. His heart burned with the thought of Remus's small, frail body curled up in the hospital wing, his chest barely rising and falling, trapped in the memories of Malfoy's hands and their father's touches running over his battered body in a way they had no right to. "It's for his own good."_

_Romulus was thrown back into the edge of the table when Sirius's fist connected with his face solidly. Romulus touched his jaw where Sirius's fist had made contact and blinked at the dark haired man, surprised. "That won't help Remus."_

_"That one wasn't for Remus," Sirius hauled back and slammed his fist into Romulus's face again. Romulus heard the familiar crack indicating a broken nose and felt a trickle of blood trailing down his upper lip. "That one was."_

_Romulus caught himself on the table and clutched his nose. He curled his other hand into a weak fist, but when he looked up at Sirius, he couldn't bring himself to hit his brother's distraught, worried boyfriend for being angry at him._

_"Well?" Sirius's voice had raised, and now he was yelling, furious, his face going red. "Are you going to hit me? Do it!"_

_Romulus's breath caught in his throat as he took in Sirius's words, garnering a flash of understanding. Sirius was mad at him, yes; however, Sirius was more angry with himself. For not being there. For not saving Remus from this. He wanted Romulus to hit him._

_"I'm not going to hit you," Romulus muttered thickly, standing up straight._

_Sirius was obviously confused by Romulus's reaction. He gripped Romulus's arms so tightly it would leave bruises and said harshly, "Stay away from him. When he gets out of the hospital wing, stay away from him. Just leave him alone. You're sick. You let him get hurt in the worst way possible. Do you understand how fucking ashamed of himself he already was? He thinks he's disgusting, and it's all your fault for letting this happen."_

_"I know," Romulus said softly, his stomach twisting painfully as he thought of Remus's baggy, conservative wardrobe that easily hid his slim frame from the eyes of other people. He knew Remus hated himself, hated his body and the way it seemed to constantly betray him._

_"You know?" Sirius was screaming now, and in that moment, he wasn't Sirius Black, confident, egotistical, playboy who slept with anything that moved; he was Sirius Black, a concerned man who was terrified for his severely hurt best friend-turned-boyfriend. "If you know, then why would you do it? You don't know! You don't get to be apologetic and act all self sacrificing and penitent! You have no fucking right!"_

_The last sentence was punctuated with a few punches to Romulus's stomach and face. Romulus tried to shield himself, but Black was beyond caring what part of Romulus he hit, powered by raw anger and fear._

_"SIRIUS!" the fists raining down on Romulus stopped suddenly and Romulus risked looking up. Sirius was being dragged away by James Potter and Peter Pettigrew. He fought against them vainly; he was tired and weak. He'd spent all week at Remus's bedside, head bowed and clutching the werewolf's bandaged hand in his own._

_James jerked Sirius back, an arm around his chest to restrain him. "Sirius-" James gasped when Sirius's elbow caught his stomach. "Sirius, calm down!"_

_"Don't tell me to calm down!" Sirius snarled, glaring at Romulus and trying to throw his friends off. "He did this, this is his fault, Remus is hurt because of him!"_

_"Sirius, Remus is awake!" Peter shouted, tightening his grip on Sirius. "He woke up, he's asking for you."_

_Sirius froze so suddenly James and Peter almost lost their grips on him. He slid out of James and Peter's slackened hands and took off down the hallway towards the hospital wing without sparing a glance over his shoulder._

_Romulus pressed his sleeve to his nose, trying to stem the bleeding. Potter fixed him with a cold glare than was a stark contrast to Black's burning anger. "I'd get that fixed somewhere besides the hospital wing. No one there is feeling particularly fond of you right now."_

* * *

Sirius shifted impatiently and glanced at his watch for what felt like the hundredth time that hour. 5:46. Remus would start to transform in roughly twenty minutes. He looked back up at the parchment Kingsley had tacked up on the wall. The small black dots that represented the supposed Death Eaters the Ministry kept a track on were flocking at Lucius Malfoy's house.

"What are they doing?" Moody growled, watching the map with his good eye. Sirius could feel the other one on himself through the side of Moody's skull, which would have creeped him out if he wasn't so used to it. "They're been collecting there all day..."

"Can't we just go check it out?" Gregson sighed, burying his face in his hands. "We've been watching them move all day, Moody. Let's go see what's going on."

"We can't just go running in there," Moody snapped. "Use yer head, Gregson. Malfoy may be scum, but he's still got rights."

"Funny how that works," Sirius snorted, looking at his watch. 5:47. "Seriously, Moody, do I have to be here? You've got plenty of manpower here."

"You have kept him away from his boyfriend all day," Stephan Thomas spoke up from where he was sprawled in his chair across the room. "I've heard werewolves are especially sensitive the day before the Moon; I bet you have him begging for you, Black."

"That's not what they mean when they say sensitive," Sirius said through gritted teeth. He clutched the plastic mug of tea in his hands and took a deep breath. They'd all been trapped in there all day; everyone was grating on everyone's nerves.

Thomas snorted derisively. "That's not what I've heard from Malfoy when he drops by here."

Sirius's mug clattered to the floor and he stood up, turning to face Thomas angrily. "Lucius Malfoy is a sadistic jerk who deserves to be locked up in Azkaban for the rest of his life, and I would appreciate it if you shut the hell up about my partner."

"Don't be so touchy," Thomas held up his hands defensively. "I didn't mean to insult you. I was just repeating what I'd heard."

Sirius humphed and plopped back down into his seat. He scooped up his mug and glanced at his watch. 5:56.

"I'm sorry, Black," Moody's voice was slightly less rough when he leaned over to speak quietly to Sirius. "I know you like to be there for him, and I know it isn't easy, but we need everyone here. This could be nothing, but it could be something really bad. We have to stay vigilant."

"I get it," Sirius sighed and tugged at his hair a little bit. "I'll be right back, I'm going to see if I can catch him through the fireplace before he goes down to the basement. I told him I'd be home."

"Go ahead," Moody nodded to the door. "Keep it short."

Sirius rolled his eyes, but gave Moody a grateful smile as he slipped out of the room. He grabbed a pinch of powder from the silver box on the fireplace in the deserted Auror's office and tossed it into the orange flames. They turned green and he gave the cottage's address and the password he and Remus had set on the Floo. Muskrat; Remus had picked it, deeming it appropriately obscure and impersonal.

He leaned into the fireplace and found himself looking into their living room. No one was in there, but he could hear movement in the kitchen. "Remus?"

Harry appeared in the archway between the living room and kitchen with a spoon in his hand. He saw Sirius in the fire and came to kneel on the floor so he was level with Sirius's face floating in the fire. "Hey, Sirius."

"Hey, Harry," Sirius smiled at his godson. "How's it been today?"

"Good," Harry shrugged. "Remus cleaned the second half of the day, of course, before he practically fell into bed for an hour. I can hear him coming down the stairs now."

"Good," Sirius replied. "What have you been doing?" he felt bad about how he hadn't be around as much for Harry these past few days. Remus's brother had been taking up most of his time. Harry's birthday was tomorrow, too. Hopefully this Death Eater thing, whatever it was, will have blown over by then.

"I worked on some of my summer homework," Harry made a face.

Sirius laughed. "You actually do that?"

"Of course he does," Remus's disapproving voice came from the kitchen doorway and Sirius saw his bare feet as he padded over to the fireplace to kneel down next to Harry. "Don't let him make you feel bad for being a good student. Lord knows how he became an Auror with his study habits."

Sirius shrugged, smiling a little, and giving Remus a once over. He was pale and his smile was strained. He rubbed his arms and shifted uncomfortably, scratching at the fabric of his sweater. Dark shadows were prominent under his eyes and Sirius had the feeling that this transformation wouldn't be easy. It had been a rough few days for everyone with Romulus around, and it was taking a toll of Remus most of all.

"You're stuck there?" Remus asked, his bittersweet smile indicating he already knew the answer.

"I'm sorry," Sirius pursed his lips apologetically. "Will you be alright?"

Remus rolled his eyes and huffed softly, his breath rustling his honey colored bangs. "Sirius, I will be fine. I've done this a few times in my life. Just catch whoever it is you're hunting and come home for Harry's birthday tomorrow."

"I promise," Sirius said firmly. "I've got to get back. If something happens..."

"Nothing will happen, Sirius," Remus smiled reassuringly. He wound his arm around his waist as a shudder ran through his body and his eyebrows drew together for a moment. "I've got to go lock myself in. See you tomorrow. Good luck, babe."

"Night, Harry," Sirius said, turning his attention to Harry for a moment. "I'll see you tomorrow. Remus, just...just be careful, alright?"

He could tell Remus was getting frustrated with his mother henning (he was always more irritable around the Moon), but continued on before Remus could snap at him, "I love you both, so much. Bye."

He stood up and stepped out of the cool flames back into the Auror's office and brushed the ash off his robes. He chewed the inside of his lip and shook his head, trying to shake the worries clinging to his mind away as he headed back to the conference room. Remus and Harry would be fine.

* * *

Remus pulled the heavy door shut behind him, sealing himself into the small dark basement. He waved his wand to lock in securely from the inside so the wolf couldn't get the door open and stripped his sweater, jeans, and boxers off, folding them carefully. He dug one of the large cement blocks out of the wall to expose the small nook behind it and placed the pile of clothes inside with his wand before replacing the heavy brick, shivering as he felt his skin crawl and bones shift slightly. He sank down to the floor and wrapped his arms around his knees, pressing his back to the cold wall. His skin sang with the sensation of the cold cement and the burning feeling of his own breath puffing on his folded arms.

He sucked in a deep breath and ignored the stinging feeling in his eyes.

He did not need Sirius here, for God's sake. He was a grown man, he'd been doing this since he was five.

Honestly, besides the moments when he woke up after the transformation, the moments before were the worst part. He could feel it about to happen, he could feel his body starting to shift around in itself. His muscles were pounding as they got ready to be stretched and torn and his bones creaked as they prepared to be shifted and lengthened. The anticipation of the pain was what Remus hated the most. Not that the transformation itself was pleasant.

After a few minutes, Remus felt the his spine curl and stretch and crack as the transformation took hold of his shaking body.

* * *

Romulus cringed when he heard the howl of a wolf cut through the night and glanced out the kitchen window where the moon cast a cool glow over the back garden. He heard pacing for a few moments and then a more mournful howl before the wolf started to throw itself against the door.

Harry glanced up from his book at Romulus, unsure of what to say. Remus had threatened Romulus with everything under the sun when he found out Sirius couldn't get back to stay with Harry, and Romulus seemed to believe his brother would make good on his threats.

"Is he usually this...uh...?" Romulus paused when another howl of agony tore through the night and drowned out his words. "Is he usually this...upset?"

"Not usually," Harry replied slowly, shifting in his chair awkwardly. "He, uh...sometimes. When Sirius isn't here it's usually worse. The wolf's just gotten used to having him there."

Romulus's eyes were flickering from the clock to the backyard. He had until the moon went down to do what he had to to get Harry's parents off the property. Lucius had told him to knock the boy out and take him with him and not run the risk of Harry catching on and trying to get away, but now that the time came he was reluctant to do it.

Remus would move on from losing Harry. He was resilient, he'd lost a lot of people close to him. Harry was the price Remus would pay to have a better life, the sacrifice Remus had to make for himself.

"Do you, uh, do you want something to eat?" Harry asked, desperate for something to do besides awkwardly sit across the table from Remus's silent, intense brother.

"Sure," Romulus's eyes moved to Harry and he watched the boy with disconcerting focus. "Whatever you want."

Harry nodded and went to the icebox to see what they had frozen in there that he could heat up.  
He felt a sharp pain on the back of his head and then everything went black.

* * *

Romulus lowered his wand and Harry's immobile form was dropped gently to the ground next to his parent's graves. He was still unconscious, and should be for a good number of hours. Just in case,

Romulus had conjured up ropes around Harry's wrists and ankles, binding him tigthly so that if he woke up, he couldn't move.

He adjusted the shovel in his hands and sighed, eyeing the graves reluctantly. Remus had been thorough; it was impossible to dig up the graves with magic, and it would take all night for Romulus to dig them up manually.

He set to work digging up James first, listening to the wolf's cries in the distance.

* * *

**There you go! Next chapter should be up soon. Please, please, please take a minute to review! It means a lot to me, and it gives me something to look froward to when I get home from work.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight is finally here! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, I love you all for it. I love hearing what you think, it inspires me to keep going. **

**CHAPTER WARNINGS: slash, minor violence, language (maybe?)**

**I hope you all like it! It's short, and it's not exactly what I wanted, but I figured I'd post it anyway so you guys could read it. **

* * *

Sirius yawned and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his burning eyes. It was almost four thirty a.m. Remus would be human any minute now, and Sirius had been hoping to get home to be there when Remus woke up. He felt sick at the thought of Remus waking up bruised, bleeding, and alone on their freezing basement floor, just like he had when he lived with his father.

The group of death Eaters was still at Malfoy's. Moody had sent Gregson out to check on the house to see if they were actually there or if it was a glitch, and he had returned in a few minutes confirming that there was a large crowd of supposed Death Eaters at Malfoy's house.

They still hadn't moved.

"What the hell are they doing?" Sirius groaned, leaning forward and burying his face in his hands. "Moody, this is ridiculous!"

Moody grumbled incomprehensibly and ignored Sirius's complaints, his eye fixed on the map.

Sirius rolled his neck and stared up at the ceiling, letting his eyes fall closed for a few moments. He didn't realize he was drifting off until Kingsley's deep voice made him jump a little bit in his increasingly uncomfortable chair. "They're moving."

Sirius leapt to his feet and moved to the front of the room, joining the rest of the small band of Aurors who had been watching this stupid parchment all night. The cluster of black dots was gone from Malfoy Manor.

"Where did they go?" Gregson studied the map carefully, looking for the reappearance of the group of dots.

Sirius shook his head and rubbed his eyes. God, he was tired. "Did they Apparate? Someone get a hold of the Portkey and the Apparition departments and find out how they moved and where!"

Two Aurors scuttled off to do as Sirius instructed.

"Everyone else, get ready," Moody instructed gruffly. "When we find them, we're going to break this up."

Sirius turned to his desk to get his magically shrunken supply bag and shove it into his pocket with his wand. He took a swig of the fresh tea in his mug and blinked, trying to wake himself up a little bit.

One of the Aurors who had run out to the Apparition or the Portkey department rushed back in and shoved a paper at Moody. "This is what they Apparition reports say about Malfoy and the rest of them."

Moody's magical eye scanned the paper and his real one fell on Sirius. Sirius felt Moody looking at him with his real eye instead of the freaky glass one, and his stomach dropped. That couldn't be a good sign. "Black, take a look at this."

Sirius approached Moody and took the paper Moody was holding out to him. He read the report, the list of names, the place they'd left...  
His gaze froze on the address next to the bold words "**Site of arrival:**"

"Oh my God," he breathed. "Remus and Harry..."

* * *

Remus's eyes flickered open and he groaned, curling into a ball and twisting his hands in his thick hair, pulling at it until it hurt in an effort to distract himself from the pain throbbing through the rest of his battered and torn body. He took a few deep breaths and pushed himself up onto his elbows to take an inventory of his injuries. He winced and looked down at himself. His chest and legs were covered in long scratches and oozing bite marks. His ankles and wrists were torn and bloody; the wolf must have gnawed on them last night when he was too tired to throw himself around the room anymore.

Nothing seemed broken, he noted with mild pleasure as he shifted different parts of his body. He closed his eyes for a few moments and listened to himself breathe for a few minutes. When he had gained some control over his pain, he pushed himself to his feet. He swayed and caught himself on the wall, cringing. The raw wounds on his limbs hurt like hell. He hoped they hadn't gotten infected from lying on the filth of the cement floor.

He pried the cinder block from the wall and dropped it to the floor. It landed with a loud crack, but he couldn't bring himself to care; he'd come replace it later. He honestly didn't think he had the strength in his trembling body to lift it and put it back. He pulled out his clothes and tugged on his jeans carefully. He tugged his sweater over his head, wincing as the thick yarn brushed against his wounds. He wasn't sure if Harry would be awake, or if Romulus would be around, so he figured better safe than sorry. He'd intentionally work his old, stained jeans and a loose, paint-splatted sweater so it wouldn't matter if they got blood on them.

He was about to stick his wand in his pocket when the door to the cellar burst open. Remus turned around, squinting in to the sudden blinding light pouring in from outside, thinking Sirius had finally made it home.

By the time he realized who it was, they'd disarmed him.

Rockwood smiled at him and stuck Remus's wand in his back pocket. "Morning, Remus."

"Morning," Remus replied warily, his eye flickering around the room for another exit he knew wasn't there, and backing into the far wall. There was no other way out of the basement. Snape was standing in front of the door, and he didn't look like he was there to help if the way his wand was trained on Remus's chest was any indication. "Can I help you two?"

"You can, actually," Rockwood's grin widened and he stepped closer to Remus. Remus snarled and pressed himself against the concrete, wanting to keep as much distance between himself and the Death Eater as possible. "Lucius figured you'd want to be there to see what your brother had done for you."

Remus cursed under his breath and rubbed his face frustratedly. Romulus. Of course. Sirius was right; Romulus had lied and manipulated and played on Remus's stupid insecurities about their relationship, all while he was planning to betray him the whole time.

A Death Eater.

Remus had always refused to believe it.

Stupid.

"C'mon, Severus," Rockwood motioned sharply to Snape. "Tie him up and let's get going."

Thin cords appeared out of the air and wrapped themselves around Remus's shredded wrists. He gasped softly at the feeling of the rope rubbing around inside his aggravated wounds and his knees gave out. He would have fallen if not for Snape's hands pulling him back up to his feet. He reeled and fell against Snape's chest, his vision burring and fading in and out of black. He vaguely felt Snape's hand ghost over the back pocket of his jeans and he flinched, unsure of if it had been intentional or an accident.

Snape helped him straighten up and prodded him surprisingly gently in the direction of the open door. His lip curled with disgust when Remus stumbled, his footing uncertain. "Move it, werewolf."

"Where...Harry?" Remus asked, suddenly stopping and turning to grip the front of Snape's robes desperately. "Severus, please, where's Harry?"

"He's fine," Snape replied stoically, untangling the werewolf's hands from his dark robes and shoving him forward. "For now."

Remus allowed himself to be half-dragged through the backyard and in the direction of James and Lily's graves. He swallowed hard and nodded to himself slowly as he was forced towards the small clearing in the trees. The only way they could have gotten on the property was if Harry's parents' bodies had been removed from the grounds.

Snape kept a tight grip on Remus's upper arm and yanked him into the clearing. Remus's eyes immediately went to Harry's small form curled up in the wet grass. He was stirring a little bit, obviously having been knocked unconscious (not doubt by Romulus). His wrists and ankles were bound tightly. The sight of the ropes sparked an even more vicious anger in Remus's chest and he growled lowly.

Snape pushed him to his knees. He landed hard on the wet grass, almost over balancing and landing on his face in the dirt, but managing to get his balance back at the last second. He took a moment to look around the clearing and evaluate the situation. Lily's and James's graves were dug up and empty. Romulus was standing closest to Harry, determinedly avoiding meeting Remus's gaze. There was a good number of other Death Eater Remus remembered all too well from the War gathered around the graves, their eyes flickering from him, to Harry, to Lucius Malfoy where he stood a few feet away from Remus.

"So glad you could join us," Malfoy grinned darkly at Remus, tilting his head as he examined the werewolf. "Pity my friends didn't get to you before you got dressed. Severus would have loved that."

Snape's expression remained uninterested, but a faint trace of red appeared on the back of his neck.

"Whatever you're planning will never work," Remus said steadily, aware that his voice was hoarse and breaking. He cleared his throat and swallowed painfully, his torn throat protesting the action.

"You think Black will ride in and save you like he did when we were at school?" Malfoy laughed cruelly. "He can't get in here, and neither can any of his Auror buddies. We worked on fixing those wards and adjusting them to fit our purposes while you were...indisposed."

Remus shook his head, ignoring the way it made his vision spin, and kept his eyes on Harry. "I think you misunderstood me. What you're planning will never work because I will not let you hurt him."

"Remus..?" Harry tried to sit up, sounding groggy and confused. "Where..?"

Malfoy's eyes glinted as he looked at Remus, ignoring Harry completely. He reached out and took Remus's chin in his hand, forcing the younger man to look up at him. Remus tried to jerk his face out of Malfoy's grip, but Malfoy's fingers tightened on his chin and held his head in place with a bruising grip. Malfoy smiled lazily, amused when Remus's hazel gaze determinedly met his own through a mess of tangled honey colored bangs. "And what's a pretty little defenseless thing like you going to do to stop me?"

* * *

"Someone's redone the wards," Sirius snapped, rubbing his shoulder as he stormed back towards the knot of Aurors in the meadow outside the cottage wards. "They won't let me in."

"Is there another way through?" Moody's magical eye darted around his skull as he took in the damp meadow and thick forest that surrounded Sirius and Remus's home. The other Aurors were working on spreading around outside the perimeter of the wards, wands raised uselessly.

Sirius shook his head and scrubbed his mouth with his hand worriedly. "The fireplace is sealed. There's no other way in unless we can break the wards."

"How strong are they?" Moody asked, crossing his arms and glaring at the place the wards began as if he could burn through them with his good eye.

Sirius ran his hands through his hair, tugging at the dark locks in frustration. Sirius could feel Remus's panic through their bond; it was thrumming through his chest, making his heart beat slightly faster. The bind only ever acted up if one of them forced it to or if one of them was in severe danger. Sirius forcibly pushed down his own fear and tried to focus on the situation. "I think whoever did it just modified Remus's wards so they wouldn't let me in. The base is definitely still Remus's work."

"Damn," Moody muttered softly, setting his jaw and rubbing the bridge of his gnarled nose tiredly. "That makes it more difficult."

Sirius nodded in agreement, sucking nervously on his bottom lip as his eyes flickered over the seemingly peaceful woods. Remus was exceedingly good at protective wards. He'd learned as much as he could about them during the War, and he'd quickly become the best in the Order as setting them up. There was very little chance of breaking them without his help.

"Whoever did this was smart to leave his base intact," Moody frowned, considering the wards carefully. "They must have had some idea of how good Remus was at setting them."

Sirius's stomach twisted as Moody's statement sent his mind on a panicked whirlwind of what that meant. This was obviously Romulus; Romulus had gone and screwed Remus over again. It wasn't surprising, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. A most likely exhausted and hurt Remus was trapped in there with a large group or Death Eaters, most of whom knew him personally and hated him, because his jerk of a brother had sold him out and betrayed him.

Again.

And Harry...Remus would die before he let anything happen to Harry. Sirius hoped like hell they could get into the wards before it came to that.

* * *

"No comment?" Lucius mocked lightly, tapping the tip of Remus's nose with one of his long fingers. His smirk grew when Remus flinched away from the touch, blinking hard. "I didn't think so." Lucius took a step back and looked around at the circle of Death Eaters, his pale eyes coming to a stop on Harry, who was now fully conscious and looking around with fear and confusion mingling in his bright green eyes.

Lucius advanced on Harry and grinned down at him coldly. "It's so touching, that he wants to protect you when you're not even his."

Harry glared at Malfoy angrily, but didn't give him the dignity of a response. He couldn't say he was surprised that Draco's father was a Death Eater. He'd heard the rumors. He recalled the first time he'd caught sight of Lucius Malfoy's haughty expression trained on him on the Hogwarts platform; he'd felt a chill in his bones at the cold look Malfoy had fixed on him.

"Wouldn't want to let a werewolf adopt the Boy Who Lived," Lucius taunted, sneering at Harry and rapping his side sharply with his cane. Harry was surprised by the blow, and let out an involuntary yelp. He curled up into a ball to protect himself from another hit. "If your godfather had been convicted like he should have, you'd be living with those disgusting Muggles your mudblood mother came from. Doesn't seem fair, does it? He's willing to die for you and the Ministry won't let him adopt you, but they wouldn't hesitate to put you with your Muggle aunt and uncle who would no doubt treat you like a freak."

"Don't touch him," Remus gritted his teeth and struggled to his feet, only to be shoved back down again by Rockwood. Why the hell was Malfoy talking about that? What did the Ministry refusing to let him adopt Harry have to do with anything?

Lucius turned back to Remus and a pleased grin unfurled on his lips when he saw the obvious confusion on Remus's face. "You still don't get it?" his lip curled in disgust. He shook his head and turned away, motioning to Romulus. "Hurry up, Lupin, explain it to the beast. We don't have all day."

"I don't want to hear it," Remus snapped before Romulus could begin. Romulus pursed his lips together and tried to ignore the guilt he felt spread through his chest at the look of derisive betrayal on Remus's face. "It's for my own good, right? Voldemort will treat me better than the Ministry, right? Forget it, Romulus. Just stop, just fucking stop..."

Romulus swallowed hard and tried to defend himself weakly. "Remus, it's true...I just want you to have a better..."

Remus ducked his head and snorted. Romulus slowly trailed off and bit the inside of his cheek. He could see the long, oozing gashes peeking out from the neck and sleeves of Remus's sweater and deep bite marks marring his bruised skin. Remus's wrists were a bloody mess from where the wolf had been chewing on them. The way Remus held himself so stiffly betrayed the pain and discomfort he felt, despite his best effort to keep it from showing.

"That's enough," Malfoy snapped, making Romulus tear his eyes from his baby brother's shaking form to meet Lucius's eyes. "Let's finish this. Everybody get ready to get out of here. You all know the plan, don't break formation when we leave, don't let your guard down until we meet back at Headquarters."

The Death Eaters nodded and drew their wands, their eyes flickering back and forth from Harry to the gray sky above the clearing. Remus felt Snape's grip on the back of his sweater loosen slightly. He glanced back for a moment, taken aback by the suddenly lax grip. Snape's expression betrayed nothing as the ropes around Remus's wrists became loose enough for him to slip off.

Lucius raised his wand, pointing it at Harry, and began the incantation, his expression calm and stoic. "Avada Ka-"

"NO!"

Remus tore out of Severus's slackened grip and pitched himself across the small clearing as fast as he could make his damaged body go. He landed on top of Harry with a soft "oomph" and wrapped himself around Harry's smaller frame as best he could just as Malfoy finished.

"-avra!"

Green light erupted from the end of Malfoy's wand and shot directly towards Remus's exposed back.

* * *

**OhmyGod, this is so mean of me and I know you guys will hate me, but this is the end of chapter eight...Sorry! I still have to do some major work on the next chapter, but I'll get it up as soon as possible.**

**Leave a review! I really appreciate the ones I've gotten so far, but if you've just been lurking, don't be afraid to tell me what you think so far! They make me so happy when I get them:)**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Next chapter! I figured I'd post it now. Thanks for bearing with me with the cliffhanger. That was mean of me:) I hope you guys like it! I'm thinking one more chapter after this (maybe?) and then an epilogue. **

**Also, I just want to say thank you for the overwhelming amount of support! This was my first story on here that was chaptered, and the reviews and follows have been amazing. I never expected so much of a response, and I thank all of you for it.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Sirius," Dumbledore's voice boomed warmly across the field as he made his way towards where Moody and Sirius stood. His robes billowed around him in waves of dark blue and purple, the silver stars on the heavy fabric glittering as he strode through the tall grass. He came to a stop in front of the two Aurors and greeted them genially. "Alastor. I haven't seen either of you in quite a while. It's nice to see you again, though I'm sorry the circumstances are so grim."

"Someone called you in, Albus?" Moody asked, his eyebrows drawing together. He hadn't sent for Dumbledore, but there was always a chance someone at the office had called for him, thinking Albus could give them some help.

"I heard what was going on through one of my friends in the Ministry," Dumbledore replied. His piercing blue eyes were fixed on where the wards were set, studying the area carefully. "I thought I would drop by."

"Considerate of you," Sirius snapped, rubbing his face with his hands tiredly. He regretted it the second the harsh words fell from his lips. This wasn't Albus's fault. He had no right to be short with the man. Honestly, Albus would be a huge help. If anyone had a chance of getting them through the wards, it would be Dumbledore.

Pictures and sounds from that night from their fifth year flashed though Sirius's mind unrelentingly; Remus collapsed into a bloody, shaking heap on the stone floor; the dark blood that stained the inside of his thighs; the wolf's muzzle sinking into its own flesh the next night over, and over, and over; Remus's desperate whimpers for Madame Pomphrey to "_stop, please stop, it hurts, please, please, STOP!_" as she tried to fix him up; the terrified screams and tears that Remus woke himself up with from his nightmares for months...

"Sirius," Dumbledore's gentle voice pulled him back to the present. Sirius blinked and shook his head, trying to dislodge the memories and focus on the problem at hand. "Sirius, listen to me. I know you're worried about them. They will be okay. Romulus wouldn't let anyone kill Remus, and Remus wouldn't let anyone hurt Harry."

"What do you know?" Sirius demanded, his blood boiling when Dumbledore had to audacity to stick up for Romulus. He had no idea what Romulus had done, he had no idea what Remus had gone through because of his brother. "You have no idea what Romulus has put Remus through!"

"Yes, I do," Dumbledore said, his voice suddenly low and tinged with regret, his gaze meeting Sirius's somberly.

Sirius felt like he'd just been punched in the stomach. He gaped and Dumbledore and spluttered, "You...you knew? But you didn't expel him! You didn't report him!"

"I couldn't," Dumbledore pursed his lips and regarded Sirius sadly. He sounded genuinely sorry, but Sirius was beyond caring about absolving Dumbledore of his guilt. "Romulus was a spy for us at that point. He was crucial; I couldn't give him up. He was too valuable. He had the perfect chance to see what Malfoy was up to. I'm sorry that had to happen to Remus. I wish there had been another way..."

"He was..." Sirius stared at Dumbledore, stunned, unable to speak for a moment. "You...you..."

Without warning, Sirius hauled back and punched Dumbledore, hard. Dumbledore seemed genuinely surprised, and stumbled back a step. His eyes widened slightly as he looked at Sirius, his blue irises dark with regret and pain.

"Black!" Moody exclaimed gruffly, shock written on his rough features. He grabbed Sirius's arm and yanked him away from Dumbledore harshly. "What the hell do you-?"

"I'm not going to let you use him like a fucking pawn anymore," Sirius growled at Dumbledore, his body singing with fury, easily shaking off Moody's grip with annoyance. "He deserves better than that. He trusted you."

Sirius turned on his heel and strode away from them, twisting his hair through his hands and trying to contain the anger, concern, and fear warring for dominance in his mind.

"Are you alright, sir?" Moody asked Dumbledore, uncertainly watching Dumbledore as the old man gazed after Sirius. Leave it to Sirius fucking Black to haul back and punch one of the greatest wizards of all time in a fit of rage. Black was protective of Remus (and Harry) to a fault, and Moody had seen first-hand how it could cloud his judgment. "He's been up for over twenty four hours, and he's worried about his family. He's strung out."

"I know," Dumbledore agreed quietly, touching his cheek where Sirius's fist had made contact. Sirius paced through the grass, rubbing his face and running his pale fingers through his ebony hair worriedly, obviously distraught and furious.

Dumbledore had doubted their relationship when he found out about it. Sirius was full of endless energy and exceedingly loud and outgoing, and Remus was quiet and content to curl up with a book. He figured Sirius would get bored quickly and move on, leaving Remus heartbroken. Instead, Sirius's complete and utter devotion to Remus as his best friend had deepened, and Sirius had fallen so hard for him it had actually hurt to watch. Remus had been the more hesitant one (with his father, Dumbledore couldn't blame him for being a little scared), but the deep friendship Remus felt for Sirius had obviously blossomed into romantic feelings. And now, years later, they was still just as fiercely protective and in love as they had been when they were sixteen.

Dumbledore felt a dull pain in his chest when his mind wandered, unbidden, to Grindelwald. That was how Dumbledore had felt about him, every bit as protective and loving, wanting him to be safe and happy.

He'd never meant to hurt Grindelwald, but he had, in the end. That was the difference between Sirius and himself. It was a dangerous trait Sirius had, to love someone else so much that they were more important to him than anything else was, but one that Dumbledore admired.

He sucked in a deep breath and steeled himself. Romulus had been his responsibility and he'd let the man fool him into thinking he was loyal to the Order. Dumbledore should have seen it coming.

He looked back to where this had all began, to where he'd started this years ago, and regretted the day he'd called a sixteen year old Romulus Lupin into his office to tell him about the Order of the Phoenix.

* * *

Remus squeezed his eyes shut and held Harry to him tightly, blocking him bodily from the curse. Harry clung to Remus, burying his face in the man's chest and steadily ignoring the tears leaking from his eyes and soaking into Remus's sweater.

Remus braced himself for the impact of the curse, but it didn't come. There was a crackling sound, a dull 'thud' against his side, and then a flash of white light that Remus could see through his eyelids. He hunched more protectively over Harry, burying his face in the boy's unruly hair and holding him closer. He could feel Harry's chest rising and falling under his.

"Remus..." Harry gasped, choking on his tears and huddling against him, confused and scared.

Remus hesitated, just as confused. He should be dead. He'd felt the spell hit him. That flash of light and crackling noise, though, they weren't usual...

He risked looking up and saw the motionless forms of the Death Eaters all around them, collapsed, unconscious or dead. He pushed himself up, dizzy and blinking sluggishly to bring things into a better focus.

"Remus, what-?" Harry tried to sit up a little bit, but found himself being suddenly yanked to his feet and yanked out of Remus's weakened grip. He struggled, but the man holding him had an iron, unrelenting grip.

"Romulus?" Remus blinked at his brother, disoriented, his vision still swimming and blurring. "What the hell happened?"

"You weren't supposed to try to save him, Remus," Romulus snarled, digging the knife into Harry's throat so beads of blood appeared under the blade. Remus's heart jumped to his throat at the sight of the blood. "I put a spell on that ring so you would be safe if Malfoy decided to try to hurt you, not so you could save him."

"Let him go, right now," Remus commanded, moving closer, so he was only feet from Romulus. Romulus's eyes were crazed with anger and desperation. Remus had never seen him so out of control before. "Romulus, let go of him. Please."

"It's not done," Romulus shook his head and jerked Harry a step back with him. Harry whimpered and tried not to move, afraid to dig the knife deeper into his neck. "He has to die to bring Voldemort back. I'm trying to help you, Remus, I'm trying to save you."

"I don't need to be saved," Remus shook his head, desperately trying to convey to Romulus that he didn't have to do this. "Please, Romulus, I don't need you to do this. I have a family now, I'm fine, I'm happy, please..."

"You can't get married," Romulus shook his head wildly, eyes flashing with urgency. "You can't even adopt him. You just tried to die in his place, Remus! And they think you're unfit to take care of him? You deserve better, Voldemort can make things better for you, for people like you..."

"He can't," Remus argued, slowly moving closer and watching carefully for a chance to get the knife away from his brother. He just needed a short window, just a few seconds… "He's lying to you. They just used you to get to Harry."

"You're wrong!" Romulus yelled. Harry jumped, shocked by the sudden loud voice next to his ear, and tried to wiggle away from the blade. Remus flinched and watched the blood trickle from under the knife blade. He took another step towards his brother, holding his hands out imploringly, desperate to get Harry away from that knife, unharmed, as soon as possible. "Why can't you just let me protect you, Remus? All I ever fucking wanted was for you to be safe! I tired, and I tried, and I screwed it up every time! Just let me try once more!" Romulus growled and shifted his grip on Harry, trying to keep a good hold on the squirming boy. "Hold still, you little—"

Remus took the opportunity while Romulus was distracted to plow into his solar plexus, grabbing for the knife. He knocked them both to the ground, dislodging Romulus's grip on Harry, and managed to get a hold of the knife after scrabbling with Romulus's loosened grip for a few seconds. Remus hissed when the silver burned against his skin, but tightened his grip on the knife despite the pain. Harry rolled off Romulus and tried to crawl away, but Romulus grabbed his ankle and dragged him back. Harry yelped Remus's name as Romulus landed on top of him. Remus tried to use his grip on Romulus to pull him away from Harry, but Romulus threw him off easily, sending him sprawling a few feet away in the grass. Romulus leaned over Harry and wrapped his hands around Harry's throat, squeezing hard.

Remus rolled a few feet when Romulus shoved him away before managing to right himself. Romulus was putting more and more pressure on Harry's neck, ignoring Harry's hands clawing wildly at his strong fingers. Harry's face was rapidly growing more and more red.

White flashed through Remus's vision, blinding him for a moment.

When the white faded from his vision and the clearing came back into focus, he found himself kneeling over Romulus, straddling his waist, and gripping the hilt of the knife, which was now driven deep into Romulus's chest. Romulus stared up at him, shocked.

"Remus..." he muttered, looking down at the knife and then back up at his younger brother, the sharp pain jarring him out of his panicked trance. Remus seemed just as stunned as he was; he blinked in shock at the knife in his hand. "Remus, you..."

"I'm sorry," Remus gasped, letting go of the knife and covering his mouth with his shaking hands. "Oh, God, Romulus, I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to...I don't know..."

"Hey, hey, hey, Remus," Romulus used what little strength he had to reach up and cup Remus's cheek. Remus didn't flinch away from him, just stared down at him with those wide, innocent, golden eyes (just like Mom's…) filled with shock. "Don't, okay? Don't be..." Romulus gasped and winced, trying to ignore the pain in his chest. Blood seeped through his shirt, soaking it in red, staining Remus's hands and clothes as well. "Don't be sorry. I don't...it's okay. It's alright. This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself. For any of it."

"How could you say this is alright?" Remus gasped, trying to stem the flow of blood from Romulus's chest with his hands, his voice high and panicked.

Romulus pushed his hands away and twined his fingers with Remus's, squeezing gently. He could feel the rough, blistered skin on Remus's right hand where the silver knife had seared his skin. "I'm sorry. I'm so fucking sorry, Remus."

"No," Remus shook his head, his honey hair falling into his eyes. He didn't bother to brush it away. "No, don't so this. You can't just get away with this, you can't just check out before I'm done with you." Tears slipped down Remus's cheeks, sticking in his hair and dripping off his jaw. He swallowed hard and yelled angrily, desperately, "You betrayed me again, you almost killed my family. We are not done here!" Remus paused and gripped the front of Romulus's shirt, his fingers tugging at the fabric and aggravating the knife, making it shift around slightly in Romulus's chest. It hurt like hell, but Romulus bit back his wince. Remus stared down at him, looking lost and furious and exhausted and horribly, painfully…broken. "I hate you!"

Romulus smiled up at Remus; a real, honest, albeit weak smile. His vision slipped in and out of blackness as his chest fell more and more shallowly with each breath. "I love you, too."

* * *

"I can't get through," Dumbledore admitted, slipping his wand back into his sleeve. "They're too strong."

"So what are we going to do?" Sirius demanded, frustrated. He felt his bond with Remus thrumming with terror and pain. "We have to get in there! It's already been too long, they're hurt!"

Driven by anger, Sirius slammed his fist into the wards. He stumbled forward when they seemed to slide around his fist instead of throwing him back out again. He took a few more careful steps towards the edge of the woods within the wards. When he made it to the edge of the forest, he still wasn't ejected back out of the perimeter of the wards.

"Sirius, take them down!" Moody commanded, torn between being thrilled the wards had broken to let Sirius back through and scared for what them breaking might mean.

Sirius raised his wand, touching it to the wards. The large bubble around the cottage and surrounding area lit up in a filmy mix of fluid greens, pinks, and blues when Sirius's wand came in contact with it. Sirius muttered the enchantment Remus had taught him and drew a long line in the swirling colors. It left a thin line in the wards and Sirius gripped the edge of it, peeling it back until it was big enough to let a person walk through.

"Impressive," Dumbledore commented, raising his eyebrows at the amoeba like balls of light sliding around the exterior of the dome. Remus was gifted, no doubt about that.

"Alright, everyone, let's move in," Moody demanded sharply, stepping inside the opening first. "We've got some Death Eaters to bring down who are long overdue for Azkaban."

* * *

Harry gasped, his chest rising and falling sporadically as he tried to draw air back into his oxygen-starved lungs. His body heaved as he coughed, the trick of breathing slowing coming back to him as he gulped in lungfulls of sweet air. He could distantly hear Remus and Romulus talking. Remus was yelling; Harry had never heard Remus yell at someone before. Harry just hoped that Romulus would leave him alone, that Remus could keep his brother under control. Harry rubbed at his throat where he knew livid, hand shaped bruises would form and focused on breathing in and out, choking when his abused throat seized up when he breathed too deeply.

"Harry! Remus!" Harry's ears perked up at the sound of a familiar voice in the distance. He couldn't…Sirius couldn't have gotten in…Harry shook his head. He must have been hearing things.

"Harry! Remus!"

Harry pushed himself up and looked around the clearing frantically when he heard his godfather's voice again, closer this time. "Sirius? Sirius!"

Harry's voice cracked and broke, drawing Remus's attention from his dead brother. Remus watched as Harry struggled to push himself up, holding his tender throat and coughing painfully, his thin body heaving with the effort of sucking air into his lungs. Remus untangled himself from Romulus and made his way over to Harry, plopping down in the grass next to the boy and scooping him into his arms. Harry gratefully latched into Remus's sweater and buried his face in the thick yarn, the tears streaming down his face soaking into the front of the sweater. Remus hugged Harry tightly to his chest and kissed the top of his messy hair, rubbing Harry's back with his good hand soothingly. "It's okay, Harry. We're okay, sweetheart. You're safe, I've got you…You're safe, babe…"

* * *

**There you go! I hope you all enjoyed it. I was nervous about writing this because it's kind of the resolution, and I wanted to make sure it was as good as I could possibly make it after all the chapters of build up.**

**Please leave a review and let me know what you thought! Romulus's death..? Honestly, even I didn't see that coming. I really appreciate hearing from all of you. I'm going on a *shudder* college visit this weekend, so send me some reviews to brighten my day?**

**Thanks for reading!**


	10. Chapter 10

**This is the last official chapter! There will be an epilogue, hopefully sometime next week. I start school Tuesday, so I don't know how that will affect my schedule, but the epilogue should be up soon.**

**Thank you so much to all the people who have stuck with this and reviewed. I actually have a hard time sticking with writing sometimes, but you guys kept me going. So thank you!**

**WARNINGS: mentions of character death, allusions to past child abuse, violence, language, and slash.**

* * *

"Harry! Remus!"

Sirius pounded through the forest, heading towards the cottage as fast as his legs could carry him. Harry and Remus could be anywhere on the grounds, it could be a while before they were found, even with all the Aurors they had looking.

"Harry! Remus!" Sirius called again, trying to quell the panic rising in his chest and clawing at his stomach. Remus was alive, he had to be alive; Sirius would feel it if Remus died. Harry, on the other hand... No, he didn't have time to contemplate what could have happened. He had to find them. "Har-!"

"Sirius!" he heard a croaky, familiar voice call his name weakly. He skidded to a stop and whirled around.

"Which way did that come from?" Sirius asked the group of Aurors with him desperately. He listened for the voice again. "Which way?"

"Over there," Gregson said decisively, pointing towards James and Lily's graves, straight ahead through a thicket of trees.

"Of course," Sirius muttered, taking off in that direction.

He burst into the clearing, wand raised and flanked by the four Aurors with him, ready for a fight.

"What the-?" Fredricks lowered his wand, voicing the surprise the rest of them felt.

A dozen or so Death Eaters, including Lucius Malfoy, were slumped over in the grass, unconscious. The two graves were dug up and empty. Romulus Lupin was sprawled on the ground, not moving; a knife sticking out of his chest, right into his heart. Remus was in the center of the clearing, hunching over Harry protectively and rubbing his back reassuringly. His hands were soaked in blood and he was so intent on soothing Harry that he didn't notice the Auror's entering the clearing. He didn't look up until Sirius was four feet away from them.

"Remus?" Sirius said quietly, trying to get Remus to look at him. Remus twitched and lifted his head, pulling Harry closer to him. When his eyes met Sirius's concerned gray gaze, Sirius could literally see the tension in Remus's body drain out of his limbs and the determined set of his jaw soften.

"Sirius," Remus breathed softly, rising to his feet, pulling Harry up with him, but not letting go of the boy. Remus cleared his hoarse throat, looked down at the unmoving Death Eaters, and glanced around at the other Aurors. He noted that Snape had somehow disappeared. "I, uh...they're unconscious."

Sirius broke out in a smile that was more out of relief than anything. He motioned for Harry to come closer. Remus reluctantly let go of Harry and allowed him to go to Sirius and be wrapped in the dark haired man's arms.

"God," Sirius breathed, holding Harry close and hugging him tightly. He could feel the boy's thin arms wrap around his waist and cling to him, and was reassured by the frantic beat of Harry's heart against his chest. "I was so...so worried."

Remus smiled weakly at Sirius over Harry's head and rubbed his hands up and down his arms, as if he was cold and trying to warm himself up. He managed to grin at the Aurors that had come with Sirius. He recognized one; Gregson, Remus recalled distantly.

"How did you take out all of them?" Gregson asked, motioning for the other two Aurors to start getting the Death Eaters in shackles. He took a moment to shoot a flare in the air to alert the others that they'd found Remus and Potter. He gave Remus a one over, concern growing. He wasn't an expert on werewolves by any means, but he figured that even by werewolf standards, Remus looked like hell. Blood was seeping through his sweater and he was sickly pale.

Remus swayed a little where he stood as he considered the Death Eater strewn on the forest floor with a sharp frown on his face. "I don't...I don't know. Romulus said something about protecting me...the killing curse bounced off..." a glimmer of understanding crossed Remus's face as he glanced around the clearing. He pulled a small bag out of his back pocket and let out a low sigh. He handed it to Gregson and diverted his gaze to the ground. Gregson took it, turning it over in his hands curiously.

"It's my mother's wedding ring," Remus said softly, not looking at Gregson. "He charmed it to protect me." Remus ran a hand through his golden hair and sucked on his bottom lip. He looked tired and broken in the dim light of the sun trying in vain to permeate the thick, swirling clouds; the thin scars winding over his pale skin stood out starkly. Gregson found himself having a hard time reconciling this young, mild man who had been cradling the child to him like Harry was the most precious thing in his life, who had allowed an overwhelming amount of relief to show in his wide eyes merely at the sight of his lover, with the Ministry's portrayal of werewolves. "If you need it for the investigation, take it."

"Alright," Gregson agreed, tucking it into his pocket. "Remus, your brother..."

Remus's right hand clenched tightly into a fist and Gregson caught sight of the horrible looking burn on his palm. His gaze flickered to the silver knife and he connected the two things in his mind. He sighed and bit his lip. "It was self-defense."

Remus looked up, surprised. He'd fully been expecting to be dragged to the Ministry and thrown in a cage. "What?"

"Obvious case of self-defense," Gregson repeated. He could see Sirius out of the corner of his eye, releasing Harry from his arms and turning his attention to Gregson and Remus. "All these men were on a watch list as possible Death Eaters. Open and close, cut and dried."

"Thank you," Remus breathed, relief showing clearly in his expression. "I...thank you. I didn't-"

Remus was cut off when Sirius engulfed him in his arms, holding him to his chest tightly. Remus yelped indignantly, and halfheartedly tried to push Sirius away, shooting a nervous look at the Aurors slowing filling up the small clearing. "Sirius, you're working..."

"That's what you're concerned about?" Sirius demanded gruffly, holding Remus out at arm's length and fixing him with an exasperated, concerned gaze. "You...God, Remus, you could have been killed..."

"I wasn't," Remus shrugged simply, anxious for Sirius to pull him back into his arms, despite his protests. He wanted to collapse, he felt tears stinging at the corners of his eyes, he could feel where his wounds had been ripped open again, the sticky blood on his hands made him sick, and he could feel his skin burning where Malfoy had touched him. He spoke lightly, as if he was on autopilot, unwilling to think about his dead brother. "If you thought Lucius Malfoy was going to get the best of me, I think we need to reevaluate our relationship."

Sirius gaped at him and shook his head. He smiled brokenly, torn between laughing and crying, and pulled Remus close again, sealing their mouths together. Remus wound his arms around Sirius's waist and allowed himself to let some of how helpless and terrified he'd felt to show in the way his fingers clutched the back on Sirius's robes, twisting the thick fabric in his hands tightly. Sirius cupped Remus's face in his hands and brushed Remus's cheek with his thumb. He slid one hand to the back of Remus's neck and he rubbed small circles there soothingly, feeling the shudders racking Remus's ravaged body as Remus's thin frame pressed against his own. He squeezed Remus to him tightly, unspeakably grateful to feel the steady rise and fall of his chest.

He was okay. He and Harry were safe.

"Sirius," Sirius reluctantly drew away from Remus and turned to Moody, keeping an arm around his partner's waist. Remus sagged against Sirius's right side, one arm around Sirius to help keep himself upright.

Moody nodded to Remus in greeting before continuing. "We need a statement down at the Ministry."

Sirius felt Remus's fingers involuntarily dig into his hip. He was all too aware of Remus's understandable aversion to the Ministry of Magic. The last time he'd been force to go there, he'd been tattooed with an ID number on his ankle and given a brand on his left hip to identify him as a werewolf. Dolores Umbridge's legislation had cracked down hard on werewolves. "Let's do it back at the cottage, Moody. I don't think it's a good idea to bring either of them there when they just gone through-"

"It's fine, Sirius," Remus cut him off, squeezing Sirius's waist reassuringly. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and motioned for Harry to come closer. He wrapped his free arm around Harry's shoulders and pulled him to his side. "I'll go in and take care of it. You stay here with Harry."

"We need both of you," Moody cleared his throat, and if Sirius didn't know better, Sirius would say his tone was apologetic.

"Harry can go in another day," Remus said firmly, meeting Moody's gaze steadily despite the way he swayed on his feet. "I'll give you a statement today, that'll hold you for a while. Harry can come in at the end of the week."

"I think that's a good idea, Alastor," Dumbledore cut in, laying a hand on Moody's shoulder. Moody's lip curled, but he didn't dare shake Dumbledore off. "Harry's been through a lot. The Ministry can wait a few days."

"Fine," Moody grumbled. He motioned for Remus to follow him. "Let's get this over with, Lupin. You look like hell."

"You're no sight for sore eyes yourself, Alastor," Remus raised an eyebrow and stepped away from Sirius and Harry. Sirius kept a tight grip on his hand, keeping Remus from getting too far. Remus squeezed his fingers, glancing back quickly when he realized he was being held back. He smiled weakly, reassuringly, and met Sirius's troubled gaze. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Can you make it?" Sirius asked softly, biting his lip.

Instead of getting frustrated with Sirius's mother-henning, Remus nodded shortly. He noted Sirius's eyes wandering to the wounds on his wrists and the burn on his hand. He freed his undamaged hand from Sirius's grasp and tugged the sweater sleeves down over his hands. "It's nothing. Just a little weak."

"Okay," Sirius said softly, not buying it at all. Remus was hurting, physically and emotionally, not that he would admit it in front of everyone. Damn stubborn man, and it wasn't like Sirius could stop him from going if Remus was determined. "We'll be waiting."

"I'll be home as soon as I can," Remus ignored Moody's calls for him to hurry up and kissed Sirius quickly once more, then kissed Harry's forehead. He hugged Harry tightly and ducked his head to speak softly into Harry's ear, "Happy birthday, Harry."

* * *

Sirius shut the door behind the last Auror and sagged against the rough wood, rubbing his burning eyes. Remus was still at the Ministry; it had been almost three hours. Sirius shuffled back to the kitchen table where Harry was sitting slumped over in a chair, half-asleep.

"Hey," Sirius shook Harry's shoulder gently. "You should go up to bed. We'll celebrate your birthday tonight. I think everyone needs some sleep."

"Okay," Harry agreed gratefully, rising to his feet shakily. Sirius put an arm around him, offering some support, and the two carefully made their way up the stairs.

Harry fell into bed without changing, groaning softly at the feel of the soft mattress under his aching body. Sirius plopped down on the edge of the bed and leaned back against the headboard. Harry felt Sirius's hand carding through his messy hair and the gentle motion relaxed him slightly. He was tired, his eyes were burning, but he felt too wound up to go to sleep.

"He shielded me from the curse," Harry muttered into the comforter. He closed his eyes and saw the flash of green light, felt the weight of Remus's body being jarred when the curse hit him and bounced off, heard Remus's ragged, quickened breathing as he hunched over Harry in a desperate effort to keep him safe. "He was going to...he would have..."

"Yeah," Sirius let out a long breath through his nose, squeezing his eyes shut. "He wouldn't think twice, Harry. Neither of us would."

"I don't want that," Harry's heart clenched as he thought of Remus or Sirius dying... "I couldn't..."

"We love you," Sirius said softly, stroking Harry's hair. He glanced out of Harry's window over the empty yard, the trees dancing in the breeze, leaves rustling and falling to the dark grass, torn from the limbs by the stirring wind. No sign of Remus. "We'd do anything for you, Harry."

"I know," Harry gasped softly, biting back tears. He pressed his face into the comforter and willed his tears to stop. He was thirteen now, for God's sake, and here he was crying like a baby, terrified out of his mind at the prospect of losing the men who'd raised him. "I...I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Sirius rubbed the teenager's back. Harry was distraught and exhausted, understandably so. Sirius felt horrible for what he'd been put through this morning. There was a thick bandage on his neck where a knife had dug into him and Sirius had to be careful to avoid the nasty bump on the back of his head from when he'd been knocked out. "You have nothing to be sorry about. This wasn't your fault. None of it."

"Lucius Malfoy...he...he said some things..." Harry continued quietly, curling up on his side. He could hear Malfoy's voice ringing in his ears.

_Pity my friends didn't get to you before you got dressed. Severus would have loved that._

_And what's a pretty little defenseless thing like you going to do to stop me?_

_Wouldn't want to let a werewolf adopt the Boy Who Lived..._

"He and Remus have a long history," Sirius said, his stomach twisting at the mention of Malfoy. "He...he always had this...fascination with Remus, which obviously Remus never reciprocated. That never went over well with Malfoy."

Harry sensed there was more, but didn't ask. Some things he knew Sirius wouldn't want to talk about, especially not now. "I...tell him I said thank you. And that I love him, when he comes home."

"Of course I will," Sirius sucked on his bottom lip and bit back a soft smile. "Get some sleep, honey. You're safe."

Harry fell asleep within minutes, lulled into a sense of security by Sirius's gentle hand running through his hair and enveloped by the warm, musky smell of his godfather.

* * *

Remus stumbled into the house a half hour later. Sirius head him open the door and say something softly to his owl as he passed the owl's blanket nest.

Sirius untangled himself from Harry, careful not to wake him up by jarring him around. He pulled Harry's shoes off and tugged the quilt at the foot of his bed over him.

Harry turned on to his back and sighed in his sleep. Sirius paused and brushed Harry's hair back from his forehead, exposing the thin scar shaped like a lightning bolt from the night Harry had lost his parents. Harry nuzzled into his hand, subconsciously moving closer to the comfort his godfather's touch offered.

"Night, Harry," Sirius said softly, moving towards the door and flicking the light off, plunging the room into darkness. He pulled the door closed quietly, leaving Harry to get a few hours of much needed sleep.

* * *

Remus fumbled with the doorknob to the kitchen, his fingers still and refusing to grip at the knob. Caliban hooted at him from his blanket nest, his wide eyes watching Remus struggle with the door.

"Shhh, Cal," Remus winced when Caliban's screeching hooting grated on his frayed nerves and sent a fresh spike of pain through his pounding head. "Quiet..."

He managed to get a grip on the doorknob and was about to turn it when the door was pulled open from the other side by a concerned looking Sirius Black.

"Remus," Sirius opened his arms and Remus stumbled into his chest, allowing Sirius to drag him fully into the kitchen and kick the kitchen door shut behind him. Remus clutched at the front of Sirius's robes, inhaling the scent of motor oil, soap, and sweat that he'd come to associate with safety. Sirius buried his face in Remus's tangled hair and held him tightly, reluctant ever to let go again. "My God...thank God you're okay...I thought...I was...damn it, Remus, don't do that to me again."

"What, get captured by Death Eaters?" Remus muttered, swallowing in an effort to relieve the burning in his dry throat. He pressed his forehead to Sirius's collarbone and let out a deep breath. "I'll try to avoid it in the future, as fun as it was."

Sirius closed his eyes and squeezed Remus tightly once more before letting go of him and holding him out at arm's length and giving him a once over. Moody must have had someone fix him up quickly at the Ministry, because Sirius could see that the gashes that had been healed as best they could. They would scar; the scratches the wolf left always scarred. His burned hand had been bandaged, and he was cradling it gingerly in his undamaged one.

"Is your hand..?" Sirius reached out and took Remus's wrist gently to get a closer look at the bandages.

"It'll be fine," Remus replied hoarsely, pulling his hand out of Sirius's grip and bringing it back to cradle it against his stomach. Sirius watched him with concern; Remus was shifting from foot to foot and hunching his shoulders like he was trying to curl up and disappear. He ran a hand through his messy hair and tugged at the ends of the strands absentmindedly. "I'm fine."

"You don't have to be," Sirius pointed out softly, moving to grip Remus's elbows gently. Remus was shutting down, the way he always did after something traumatic had happened. Sirius figured it must have been how he'd coped with being abused by his father all those years, how he'd been able to deal with what Malfoy had done to him. He locked it away in a box and tucked it safely into the back of his mind, only to be taken out and opened for nightmares or flashbacks. "Remus, you don't always have to be okay. He lied to you, he used you, you must be angry…"

Remus tore himself away from Sirius and whirled around, slamming his fist into the doorframe, hard. Sirius sucked in a deep breath; Remus didn't get mad often, but when he did, it was something that had to be delicately handled. Remus punched the wall again, even harder this time, and snapped harshly, "Of course I'm mad! He betrayed me, all he's done since I turned fourteen is hurt me, and I can't…God, I still love him! It would be so easy if I could just hate him and not feel bad about plunging a knife into his heart and watching him die…"

Remus's voice had risen until it was verging on being hysterical. He clutched at his hair and sagged against the counter, exhaustion draining the last of his strength as adrenaline wore off. "I just…I'm so tired, Sirius."

Sirius hesitated, but took the risk of trying to pull Remus close to him again. Remus's body was heavy and pliant in his arms when Sirius wrapped him a tight embrace. After a few moments, Sirius felt Remus's arms drape around him loosely. "I know…I know. You don't deserve this, any of it, you never did."

Remus let this eyes fall shut and buried his face in Sirius's shoulder, clinging to his lover to stay upright. "Then why did it happen?"

"Because people are screwed up," Sirius sighed softly, running his hand up and down Remus's back. "Some people are just out to get everyone. That's why we stick together, right, love?"

Remus nodded against Sirius's shoulder. He felt the tears that had been stinging at his eyes for hours slip down his cheek and soak into Sirius's robes. "I love you."

"I love you, too," Sirius replied softly, pressing his chapped lips to Remus's temple. He felt like he was ready to collapse, and Remus didn't look much better. "Let's…let's talk about this later. You need some sleep."

Instead of making a sarcastic comment, Remus just nodded wearily and leaned heavily on Sirius as they made their way to their bedroom. Sirius pushed Remus to sit on the edge of the bed moved to help him get his bloody, torn sweater over his head.

"Stop," Remus batted his hands away from the hem of the sweater, ducking his head. His neck flushed red with humiliation.

Sirius regarded him with concern, gently cupping Remus's chin and guiding Remus's head up so his hazel gaze met Sirius's own troubled gray eyes. "You don't want to change?"

Remus crossed his arms over his chest and turned his face away again. "I…Please don't look at me."

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked, confused by the request. "It's not like I've never seen you without a shirt on, Remus. I've seen a hell of a lot more than that."

Sirius's statement didn't seem to help. Remus's ears turned bright red and he buried his face in his hands, wiping at his eyes with frustration. "I just can't, okay? I can't do it, I can't have someone looking at me like that right now…"

Sirius's stomach grew cold at Remus's words. Of course. This had stirred up the feelings of humiliation and self-disgust Remus's father had left him with. Sirius sighed and reached out to tuck a lock of golden hair behind Remus's ear. "You know I would never…"

Remus half laughed, half sobbed into his fingers. "I know. Isn't that what's so fucked up about me? I know you would never hurt me, but I can't help being terrified you will."

Sirius's heart ached as he rubbed Remus's back steadily. Remus was a mess. He was coming apart. Sirius had seen this coming, but that didn't mean he knew what to do to make it better. "Do you want me to sleep downstairs?"

Remus hesitated, but shook his head, dropping his hands to flop palms up in his lap. "Don't go. I just…I need you here, I'm just…"

"You're scared," Sirius finished softly for him, moving to sit next to Remus on the edge of the bed. He kept an arm around Remus's back and squeezed his side tightly. "You've been through hell, babe. I can't blame you."

Remus nodded shortly and took a deep breath, staring down at his hands, his tangled bangs falling into his swirling eyes.

"I wish I could say something to make this better," Sirius said gently, tugging Remus closer so the smaller man's head lolled back on his shoulder. "But nothing really will, I guess. I just…I'll be with you every step of the way on this, Remus. Whatever you need to do to work through any of this, I will be there for you."

Remus recalled the same words being spoken just as earnestly to him when Sirius had found out about Malfoy, about his father. Sirius had put up with his moodiness and lashing out for months, he'd never missed a session with the doctor in town when Remus asked him to go, he'd never said a word about how Remus slept curled up on the window seat of their dorm one hour and snuggled impossibly close to Sirius's side the next, only to return to the window seat a couple hours later. He'd taken it all into stride, giving him a seemingly inexhaustible amount of support.

Sirius was his best friend, his mate, his life, his partner.

Remus sucked in a deep breath and gently pulled away from Sirius. Sirius looked a little put out, but then noticed Remus had started to peel off his sweater. Sirius jumped up from the bed and went to grab a clean shirt from their drawers.

Remus took it gratefully, smiling weakly at Sirius. Sirius lightly touched his side, and instead of sending a shudder of fear through Remus, the warm touch anchored him, calming him down slightly. Sirius slipped his robes off and changed into a t-shirt and boxers, tossing the heavy garments aside. He'd take care of them later, probably after getting a lecture from Remus about how he was going to have to iron them himself before he went to work again, because wearing wrinkled robes would just be embarrassing.

Remus slid under the blankets and curled up next to Sirius, not speaking. His hands curled into the front of Sirius's shirt and he pressed his face into the soft fabric. Sirius could feel him shaking with the effort of holding back sobs.

"You can cry, babe," Sirius said softly, stroking his hair. Remus shook his head and determinedly kept the tears at bay, not willing to let go of the last shred of dignity and self-control he had. He felt Sirius shift slightly and suddenly warm lips were pressed against his own, firm and reassuring. "You're safe, Remus. I love you, I always will. Crying doesn't make you weak, or worthless, or anything else your dad told you. You'll feel better."

Remus broke when Sirius kissed him again. Tears slid down his cheeks, hard and fast, and Sirius suddenly found himself with an armful of shaking, sobbing, grief-stricken, and exhausted werewolf. He kissed the top of Remus's head, allowing his own silent tears to fall into the honey locks. He held Remus tighter. "I understand. He hurt you, and you still love him. I still love Regulus. You can't help it. He was your brother."

"What am I going to tell my dad?" Remus choked out between gut wrenching sobs.

Sirius let out a long breath through his nose. "To go to hell."

Remus's fingers dug into his chest painfully. Sirius winced. "Sorry, sorry. We'll take care of it later. This is about you grieving for him, no one else matter right now."

"You're so insensitive," Remus gasped, burying his face in the junction where Sirius's neck met his shoulder. "Can you please put aside your petty hatred of my family for ten seconds?"

"No," Sirius replied honestly.

Remus smiled for the briefest second. "I love you." His expression crumpled again as his tears fell harder, and he returned his forehead to its place on Sirius's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Sirius held Remus closer and curled protectively around him, closing his eyes and dropping a kiss on Remus's damp cheek. "Don't be."

* * *

Sirius tightened his arm around Harry as they watched Remus seal the last grave, warding it heavily just like he had with the first two. Sirius was a little concerned about him, but Remus looked a little better than he had before they'd gotten some sleep. He finished the wards and tramped over to Sirius and Harry, looking drained, but relieved.

He stood on Harry's other side and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. His fingers caught Sirius's sleeve and pressed against his arm gently.

"Ready to head in?" Sirius asked softly, observing Remus carefully. Remus's thick locks were falling into his eyes, obscuring them from Sirius's view. Sirius was slightly reassured by the small, genuine smile that flickered across Remus's lips.

Remus nodded shortly, trying to keep his gaze from wandering to Romulus's grave. He hadn't known his brother, not really. He couldn't grieve for a man he hadn't known, and he was sick of grieving for the boy he'd once called his brother. That kid was gone; had been for a long time.

"How're you doing, Harry?" Remus asked, squeezing Harry's shoulder and tugging the boy closer. Sirius automatically shifted to accommodate Remus's movement.

Harry shrugged and rested his head against Remus's shoulder. His voice was ragged and breaking when he spoke. "Okay. I…He was your brother, Remus. It…it scared me, but you must be…you must…"

Remus shook his head and bit the inside of his bottom lip. He took a moment to look at the man and child next to him. Harry was almost taller than he was at this point; he was a teenager now. Remus had known this would happen, but he hadn't been able to clearly imagine it from when he'd held Harry's tiny, squirming body in his arms shortly after he was born. Though he had never wanted Lily and James to die, he was unbelievably grateful that they had left their son for Remus and Sirius to raise. In the days after their deaths, sometimes tension between Sirius and Remus got so high Remus was sure they weren't going to make it. Harry had kept them together then, reminded them that what they had was more important than their stupid arguments, more important than arguments left over from the newly ended War.

Sirius was watching Remus with raised eyebrows, obviously unsure of what Remus was smiling about. Sirius said he was lucky to have Remus, but Remus knew it was the other way around. Sirius was stubborn, and hotheaded, and irrational sometimes, but he was loyal to a fault and deeply devoted to the people he loved. Remus had been uncomfortable when they first started dating, not used to having so much attention focused on himself. Remus had never wanted casual relationships; he had barely been able to entertain the prospect of sex without feeling sick. Sirius had made him feel safe, had never made him feel pressured to do anything he wasn't comfortable with. Everyone knew Sirius Black was a sex-crazed playboy who had slept with half the school; Remus had a hard time reconciling that person to the boy who had kissed Remus's forehead and told him softly that he loved him.

There was never any doubt in Remus's mind that it was true.

Remus nodded slowly, a small smile curving the corners of his lips slightly upwards. "I'll be fine."

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**There it is! I hope you guys liked it.**

**Please leave a review if you have a second to let me know what you've thought so far! I really appreciate them.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. Chapter 11

**This is it! The epilogue. I never thought I'd be able to finish this, but you guys have kept me going. Thank you so much for all the support, reviews, favorites, and follows this story has gotten. You are all amazing for sticking with this for so long, and I really appreciate it. This was my first multi-chaptered story, and it's been an awesome experience because of all of you. I hope you all liked it.**

**CHAPTER WARNINGS: slash, mentions of abuse and death, language**

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Snape glanced up from the stacks of essays on his desk when he heard a knock on the door.

"Come in," he called, dropping his gaze back down to the essays he had to finish grading before the Christmas holidays came to an end.

The door was pushed open to reveal Remus Lupin standing in the doorway, his arms laden with a stack of heavy texts. He smiled absentmindedly and stepped into Snape's office, pulling the door shut behind him with his foot and shaking his head to get his thick, golden hair out of his eyes.

"Hi, Severus, Dumbledore asked me to drop these off on my way out," Remus placed the stack of books on the edge of Snape's desk. He stepped back and dug his hands into his pockets. He was wearing Muggle clothing, Snape noted. He was one of the only wizards Snape knew who wore Muggle clothes instead of robes; he suspected it had something to do with how Remus had been raised.

Not that he could complain, a voice in the back of Snape's mind commented cruelly as his eyes flickered down Remus's slim frame.

"You're staring," Remus said softly, a sad smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

Snape fought the blush threatening to rise in his pale cheeks and looked up to glare severely at Remus. "I was simply impressed by the fact that it sees your wardrobe had gotten even shabbier. Black can't support you as well as you'd figured?"

"Sirius and I get along fine," Remus replied mildly, cocking an eyebrow at Snape. He wasn't oblivious. He'd known how Snape felt about him for a long time. He felt horrible about it; he'd never wanted to lead Severus on. He'd felt bad for him in school, because of the brutal bullying Severus endured, and he'd tried to be kind. Severus had taken it the wrong way.

Remus had figured he'd gotten over it, but judging by the way Snape's eyes had lingered on him for a moment too long, he hadn't.

Remus took a deep breath and leaned forward, bracing his hands on Snape's desk and meeting his dark, unreadable gaze. "Thank you. For putting that ring in my pocket that day. I would have died without you doing that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Snape muttered, not looking away from Remus's bright hazel eyes. Snape had always been mildly fascinated with Remus's eyes. When he looked closely, he could see flecks of gold in the hazel that hinted at Remus's condition. His eyes were gorgeous, and seemed to pierce right through a person, but they were definitely not completely human.

Remus pursed his lips and nodded shortly. He ducked his head for a moment, allowing his hair to fall in front of his wide eyes. After a moment, he spoke softly. "You don't have to keep up a front, Severus. I know it was you, and I know why you did it."

"Do you?" Snape demanded severely, his heart clenching at the thought.

"You let your old feelings for me get in the way," Remus replied evenly, not looking up from the desk. His fingers tightened around the edge. "You used to—"

Snape snorted derisively, cutting Remus off before he could finish his thought. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Then explain it to me," Remus's voice held a challenge, and Snape felt the familiar rush of irritation, admiration, frustration, and respect in his chest. "You used to think—"

"There is no used to," Snape cut him off shortly, speaking quickly and softly, his voice devoid of emotion. "I still feel the same way now. If you wanted to leave Black and be with me, I wouldn't hesitate to say yes. It has been years and years and years, and I can't seem to get rid of this. It disgusts me, that you have this hold over me when you're not even human, when you barely even notice me. I did what your brother asked me because I wanted to protect you. Are you happy? Does it make you happy that you're the reason I'm so miserable? You're the reason I haven't moved on with my life?"

"Severus…" Remus muttered, glancing away and straightening up. He dug his hands into his pockets. "You don't—"

"You never looked at me twice," Snape ignored him, caught up in the feeling that had been brewing in his chest since school as they came pouring out of him. "All I wanted was for you to approve of me. I would be so close to giving up on you, and then all of a sudden you would help me with homework, or stop the others from picking on me, or help me pick up my books when they were knocked out of my arms. And I kept falling back in lo—I went right back to where I started."

"You and Black…I can't begrudge you happiness. God knows you deserve something good in your life after the hell you've been through. I only wish…I wanted you to…you never even gave me a chance."

Remus frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off when Snape's lips were suddenly covering his own. He blinked, stunned, and drew back once he had processed what was going on. He took a step back from the desk and regarded Severus with a mixture of shock and apology in his eyes. "Severus, don't. Don't. I have a mate, and I love him. I'm sorry. I can't choose who I fall in love with."

Snape set his jaw and raised an eyebrow. His lips tingled where they had been pressed to Remus's slightly chapped, soft and warm mouth. "Why him? You could have anyone else; why him?"

Remus shrugged and smiled apologetically. "He's my best friend. He's everything I need. More than I need. More than I deserve. I wouldn't…I wouldn't trade him for anything."

Snape nodded, accepting the answer. He sank back into his chair and picked up his quill. "That's sickening."

Remus shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, watching Snape cautiously, concerned. Snape felt Remus's eyes on him and glanced up, irritated and slightly embarrassed. "What?"

"Nothing," Remus shook his head and stepped back towards the door. "I have to get going. I'll see you soon, I suppose."

"Unfortunately," Snape snarled, clenching the pen tightly in his hand.

Remus let out a long breath, unsure of what to do. As bad as he felt and as positive as he was that Snape wouldn't hurt him, he really wasn't comfortable staying there alone with a man who had such an obvious interest in him; it had always made him uncomfortable, to be looked at like that by anyone. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall. He cleared his throat and softly said, "Goodbye, Severus."

He shut the door behind him, leaving Snape alone in the small, dimly lit room.

Snape stared down at the papers on his desk, trying to focus on something besides the memory of Remus's lips sealed with his, of the utter emptiness in his chest from the rejection. He understood that Remus wasn't really at fault here; he was right, he couldn't make himself fall in love with Snape anymore than he could make himself fall out of love with Sirius.

A small, wet drop appeared on the top paper of the stack, smudging the ink slightly. It took him a few moments to realize that it was a tear that had dripped off the end of his nose. It was soon followed by a few more drops, and he leaned back in his chair so they wouldn't wreck the essay. He rubbed his cheeks, feeling ashamed and pathetic when they cam away wet, but he couldn't find it in himself to stop them.

If crying was what it took to move on from Remus Lupin, then, damn it, he wasn't going to stop himself.

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Sirius glanced up from the papers on his lap when he heard the kitchen door open and close. Remus locked it behind him and made his way to the table before plopping down into the chair across from Sirius.

Sirius nodded in greeting, returning his gaze to the papers in front of him. "Hi, love. How'd talking with Dumbledore go?"

After a few moments, Sirius still hadn't gotten a response. He looked up, concerned. Since that night almost two months ago, Remus had been phasing in and out, getting deeply lost in thought periodically. Sirius could call him back with a gentle touch or a few words, but it worried him slightly. When they were in school, Remus had done the same thing, but it hadn't happened as often after Remus had left home. His nightmares were slowly growing less and less frequent, and Sirius could tell he was trying to accept Romulus's death and move on; he needed to live his own life again, and he refused to let his brother take that away from him.

"Remus," Sirius called his name, trying to draw him back to the present.

Remus blinked at the floor and ran a shaking hand through his hair, not looking up at Sirius. "Severus kissed me."

That hadn't been what Sirius was expecting. He was speechless for a few moments before he managed to choke out his words. "Like…like did he..? God, Remus if he made you do anything you didn't want, I will fucking kill him…"

Remus shook his head quickly, seeing where Sirius was going with his question. He bowed his head and looked down at his hands. "No. No. He just kissed me; that was it. It's okay, it's alright. I'm sorry."

"You didn't kiss him," Sirius shrugged, watching Remus closely. Remus met his gaze and sucked on his bottom lip, nodding in agreement, but still looking troubled.

"I didn't expect it," Remus replied slowly. "It was…it was rather unpleasant."

"See, that's what I want to hear," Sirius grinned warmly, reaching over the table to grip Remus's hands tightly. "Of course, I'm sure I'm hard to follow."

Remus rolled his eyes and an honest, small smile curled the corners of his lips upwards. He squeezed Sirius's hands where their fingers were entwined. "Of course. He never stood a chance."

Remus smiled dimmed for a moment and he pulled his hands away to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. "He saved my life. He's…I mean, he said that since school…"

"You can't tell me you didn't know that," Sirius snorted, setting his papers aside and leaning forward with his elbows on the table. "I've never liked the way he looks at you." Sirius pursed his lips when Remus didn't respond. "You can't make everyone happy, Remus. You'll kill yourself trying to do that. He'll get over it."

Remus shrugged one shoulder in agreement. "You're right. I know you're right. Anyway, I would never…I could never leave…" He bit his lip, struggling to articulate his thoughts, but having a hard time finding the words.

Sirius smiled and rose to his feet, moving around the table to press his lips to Remus's. Remus finally relaxed a little bit when Sirius tugged him to his feet to wrap his arms around Remus's slim waist. Remus kissed him back, sliding his hands into the hair at the nape of Sirius's neck and twisting the dark locks between his fingers to pull Sirius closer. Sirius smiled against Remus's lips when he felt Remus tug him closer. "I love you, too."

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**There we go! Kind of short, but hopefully a little uplifting, tied up some loose ends. Even I didn't see the thing with Snape coming until it happened, and I sort of like it, so I decided to keep it in there. **

**Let me know what you thought, about the epilogue, or about the entire thing. I appreciate people taking time to drop me a review, I love getting them, so feel free:)**

**Thanks for reading!**


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